LOST & FOUND PART 1
by DG Fisher
Summary: After six years living as a different person with a very full life, how can the missing Cartwright son reconcile his past with his present and with his future? But most of all, does he want to?
1. L & F PT 1 CH 1 CHANCE MEETING

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

CHANCE MEETING

Chapter 1

Joe was bored and he was surprised that he was bored. San Francisco had so much to offer a young man, but nothing seemed to be very interesting anymore. His biggest problem was that he couldn't get his older brother, Adam, out of his mind. "Six years," he thought, "it's been six years." Adam had gone to Chicago with an old friend from college, Allan, who had shown up at the Ponderosa asking him for help. Two weeks had gone by with no word. Then another two weeks went by, and still nothing.

Extremely worried, Ben had gone to Chicago himself and when he talked to the local authorities he had been horrified when he was told Adam's friend was dead; he had been murdered. As for Adam, no one had even heard of him.

Ben had stayed as long as he could, but found no trace of his missing son. He advertised a reward, but no one with any legitimate information came forward. Then he even went to a local detective agency run by a man named Pinkerton and hired them to look. For a month the detectives tried to turn up any information at all, but could not find a thing. Adam had just vanished. They took it very hard that they couldn't help and all promised to keep looking, on their own time, right before they saw Ben off at the train station.

Those six years had gone by, but Joe somehow knew in his heart that Adam was not dead; he clung desperately to that hope, they all did.

He was very deep in thought as he walked along so he almost didn't glance in the window of a gentlemen's club as he passed. His brain didn't register the face he had seen until he was almost a block away. When it did, his heart started to pound and he turned and hurried back. He stepped right up to the window and cupped his hands around his eyes to block out any glare and saw from the side a tall dark-haired man working behind a bar. The man was efficiently setting things up for the day with an economy of movement. Joe stared intently, watching the way the man moved and his heart began to beat even faster. The man then turned toward the window and spoke to someone Joe couldn't see. The other person must have said something amusing because the man laughed, white teeth flashing in a dark beard.

The pounding of his heart roared in Joe's ears and he rushed to the door and ran in. He was in such a hurry he didn't notice the enormous, muscle- bound man guarding the door until he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by a huge hand.

The doorman said, "You can't come in here unless you got yourself a membership, and I don't think you do." He started dragging Joe out saying, "Sorry he almost slipped past me Mr. Eden. I'll just toss him out."

"No, wait!" Joe pleaded trying to dig his heels in. "Adam, is that you?" he pleaded in a last ditch attempt to get the attention of the man behind the bar.

The bouncer stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the man he had called "Mr. Eden." He must not have liked what he saw because his expression became uncertain. Joe squirmed around and managed to take a brief look and was shocked when he saw that the man he thought was Adam was coldly angry.

Joe's captor shook him and started to drag him out the door again when Mr. Eden spoke, "It's alright Charlie, you can let the kid go," which the doorman did immediately. Joe slowly turned and he saw the other man watching him with narrowed, intense eyes - a look that was very familiar.

"How did you know my first name, kid?"

His mouth was so dry Joe couldn't speak at first, but then he managed to croak, "I know your first name because you're my brother."

This Adam called Eden rolled his eyes and the bouncer laughed nastily. "How many people does that make claiming I'm a long-lost relative so far this year, Charlie?" Adam said.

"Probably 'bout an even dozen."

"I think you're right," Adam said as he cocked his head to the side and looked Joe up and down. Then he addressed the bouncer again.

"Well, Charlie, I'm now inclined to be in a generous mood." He turned back to Joe, "Come here kid, you can have a beer and tell me your story."

Joe glanced nervously at Charlie then moved slowly to the bar. He sat down on a stool as the other man placed a mug of beer in front of him. "It's not really my story, it's more like your story."

Adam continued working behind the bar, "Alright then, tell me my story."

Joe was rattled and blurted out the first thought that came into his head, "Aren't you going to have one?"

He gave Joe a dark sideways glance, "No thanks kid, I don't drink."

"You don't drink and you work in a saloon?" Joe mentally kicked himself and tried to organize his scrambled thoughts. Everything this man was doing and saying was keeping him off balance.

"I don't work here," Adam said as he stopped moving around to lean against the bar sideways on one elbow. He pulled out a narrow cigar and lit it. "Get to the story, I don't have all day."

Joe opened his mouth to respond when he realized he just wasn't sure what to start with. When he met Adam's eyes with a blank stare of his own the other man shook his head and spoke, "So you're trying to tell me I'm your brother. That's hard to believe, son, I don't look anything at all like you."

"We have different mothers."

Adam raised one eyebrow, "Nice touch, that neatly explains the lack of resemblance." He looked at Joe expectantly.

"Our brother Hoss has a different mother too."

Adam gave Joe a sardonic look, "Just how many of us are there?"

"Only us three," Joe said, "Pa's been married and widowed three times."

"Well, at least he had enough sense to stop while he was behind," Adam gave a short, harsh laugh.

The younger man was starting to get a little irritated and his face turned slightly red as he said, "So why do so many people claim you as a long-lost relative?"

"You play dumb really well kid," Adam said, then looked at the bouncer, "tell him why Charlie."

The bouncer laughed, "Mr. Eden's just about one of the richest men in this here part of the state."

Joe's mouth fell open, "Really? But why do you work here, then?"

"I told you before kid, I don't work here; I own this place." Both Adam and Charlie laughed.

The front door opened then and all three men turned to the newcomer. He was an average looking man with brown hair and eyes. He anxiously addressed his employer. "I got here as fast as I could when I got your message, Mr. Eden. Didn't Bob show up this morning?"

Adam straightened up and put out his cigar as his expression became serious. "No he didn't Jack," he said as he came out from behind the bar and went to the nearest table.

"Come sit down, I need to talk to you about it."

When they were both seated Jack asked, "Did he get into another fight?"

Adam shook his head, "No, not in the way you mean. I'm sorry Jack, but Bob is dead. He was murdered last night."

Jack gasped and looked at the other man in shock, "But why? I mean, how? What happened?"

"I'm not completely sure yet, but you can be sure I'm going to find out," Adam crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, "as far as I can see it looks like whoever did it was a professional."

Jack still couldn't take it in, "But why would someone hire a professional killer to murder Bob?"

"Because he worked for me, Jack. All the harassment I've been dealing with for the last six months hasn't shut me down, so now the perpetrator has upped the ante to murder."

Appalled by what he was hearing, Joe turned around on his stool. Adam glanced up at him, "Did you get all that, kid? Still sure you want to claim me?"

Turning back to Jack, Adam said, "I know you and Bob were close, and I was pretty sure he didn't have any family to notify. Do you know of any?"

The other man just shook his head, staring down at his hands in his lap.

"I didn't think so," Adam raised his right hand and smoothed down his beard. "Someone has declared war on me and mine. I promise you Jack, when I find out who did this I am going to bring him down myself."

His employee looked up at that, "What can I do to help?"

Smiling Adam said, "You just keep your eyes and ears open and report anything you hear to me." He stood, "I have to leave soon and make the arrangements for Bob's funeral. I've sent out notices letting all employees know what happened. Every business I own, except the hotel, will close day after tomorrow at one o'clock so anyone who wants can attend the funeral at two."

He leaned down and looked Jack in the eye. "I need you to help spread the word to all employees that if anyone threatens them, they are to come immediately to me. And if anyone decides to leave my employ out of fear I will not hold it against them." Straightening up he continued, "I have a lot of people coming from the agency in Chicago and they should be here tomorrow."

Jack nodded his head. "I remember now, you used to work with Pinkerton didn't you?"

"That's right, first in New York and then in Chicago. I've called in a lot of favors and a lot of friends. Whoever is doing this is going to pay." Adam looked at Joe then.

"Come with me, kid. I have to get going, but you can finish your story while I change," he said as he went to a door near the bar and went in. Joe was close behind. He walked into a large office and Adam told him to have a seat as he pulled his shirt off before going through another door. Joe couldn't stop a gasp of horror and the other man heard it. He came back and all Joe could do was just look at him with wide eyes.

Adam laughed, "Sorry Joseph, I keep forgetting about these scars and how they affect other people." The mass of scars on Adam's chest was just as bad as what Joe had seen on his back. "What happened?" he finally managed to say.

"Someone tried to beat me to death and when that didn't work, they tried to stab me to death. In fact, I was dead, at least for a while, and when I woke up I I was on a table in a hospital morgue in New York. Fortunately for me a very talented surgeon managed to patch me back together.. Which brings me back to your story - everyone around here knows I woke up without any memories at all. The only thing I knew for sure was my name is Adam."

"What about the Eden last name?"

"Pinkerton gave me that last name when he hired me. He thought it was a good joke. It stuck, and I didn't really care. One name is as good as another when you don't know who you are," Adam shrugged and went back through the other door.

Joe sat down, looked around the office, and spent some time considering everything he had heard. "So you didn't remember anything at all?" he eventually called through the open door.

"No, not a thing," Adam replied and came back into the office dressed in an expensive dark-gray suit.

Joe stared at this elegant, well-groomed, yet powerful-looking man, from his brilliantly polished boots to his closely clipped dark beard. And then the importance of something this Adam had said came to him.

"You called me Joseph."

"What?"

"When we first came in here and I reacted to your scars you called me Joseph. I know I never told you my name."

The other man stood very still, looking at Joe with hooded eyes. "You're right, I did and I'm sure you didn't tell me your name too," he turned away to take a black hat down from a row of pegs on the wall, and then he turned back to Joe.

"Hmmm...I have to say this is getting to be much more interesting." He put his hat on with his left hand and that is when Joe noticed he was wearing a wedding ring.

"You're married!?," he yelped.

Adam laughed, "Very close to five years now, everyone knows that. Damn, you really are good at playing dumb, if you are playing dumb. Where are you staying in town?"

"At the Eden House," Joe said then realized who must own it. "Oh."

"Perfect, and yes The Eden House is mine. Do you have anyone with you?"

"Both Pa and Hoss."

"Alright, I tell you what kid, you bring them to my office at three o'clock today and we'll see what happens. Just go to the front desk, give them your name, and someone will show you up," he was standing holding the office door open. "So, what is our illustrious surname?"

"Cartwright."

"Cartwright," Adam repeated, "well at least that's a lot better than the last one. I wouldn't wish the last name of Winkleblech on my worst enemy."

Joe laughed as he got to his feet and Adam smiled at him. "Well Joseph Cartwright, if you are telling me the truth that's wonderful." Adam paused and his face became hard, his eyes intense, "but if I find you've just been fooling with me you will regret it."

He left the office then and Joe trailed behind him until the two were standing on the sidewalk out in front of the club.

Adam turned to him once more. "For both our sakes Joseph, I hope you are telling me the truth," he said then turned and walked away leaving Joe with the strange feeling of actually being afraid of a man he had known and trusted all his life.


	2. L & F PT 1 CH 2 THE TRUTH

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

THE TRUTH

Chapter 2

At a quarter to three Joe was starting to panic; he couldn't find his father or his brother and time was almost up. He was standing in the lobby of the Eden House when he caught the aroma of the food being served in the restaurant to his right. That's when he realized he hadn't looked for Hoss there. Slapping a hand to his forehead, he ran in and spotted Hoss immediately. Darting past the host, he walked as quickly as he could up to his brother and grabbed him by the arm. Hoss looked up at him with a frown that quickly changed to a smile as he recognized Joe.

"Come on," Joe said, "we have to go."

"What?"

"We have to go," Joe repeated and started tugging on Hoss's arm. "I don't have time to explain, we just have to go right now if you ever want to have Adam back." At the mention of their older brother's name, Hoss stood and followed Joe willingly, but then stopped saying something about not having paid his bill.

"Don't worry about it, we're related to the owner."

"What?" Hoss said again.

Joe sighed, "Look, all I can tell you is Adam owns this hotel and he goes by the last name of Eden."

"You aren't makin' any sense, Joe," Hoss said as they stopped at the front desk.

His younger brother looked at the clock and was relieved to see it wasn't quite three yet. "Excuse me," he said to the clerk, "we have an appointment with Mr. Eden."

The man behind the desk turned to him with a cool, but correct smile and said, "Mr. Joseph Cartwright?"

At Joe's nod he motioned for them to follow. He went to a door behind the desk and unlocked it. He opened the door and stood to the side as they went in, came in himself, then closed the door and locked it behind them. They now faced two doors in the wall directly ahead of them. The clerk unlocked the one to the right and opened it to reveal a flight of stairs.

He stepped back and motioned Joe and Hoss through before he spoke again. "Please knock when you reach the top sir," he said quietly then stepped back and closed the door. Joe and Hoss had started up the stairs when they heard the lock click behind them.

"This whole thing is just too peculiar Joe."

"I know, you should have been there when I talked to him this morning. I have no doubt at all that he is Adam, but it was like he was wearing a mask. I could see the old Adam behind it, but he wouldn't let it out," he shook his head, "it's hard to explain, but you'll see."

They reached the top of the stairs then and Joe knocked.

The door was opened by a huge, tall man who looked them over carefully before stepping aside. Joe and Hoss passed through the door into a long hallway. Their escort locked the door behind them and as they followed him to the right and down the hallway they noticed that all the doors were shut, but they could hear activity going on inside.

When they reached the last door on the left the huge, bald man knocked then opened it, ushering them into an office. A small, frail-looking black woman rose from her seat behind a desk and gave them a sweet, sunny smile. She then turned her attention to the huge man still standing in the doorway. "Thank you Wes, I can take it from here."

The human mountain gave Hoss and Joe a suspicious look then said, "I'll be right outside if you need me," and he was gone, closing the door behind him firmly.

"Please excuse his unfriendly manner, Wes is very devoted to Mr. Eden and takes his protection very seriously." She smiled again, "We all do. Please have a seat, Mr. Eden's two-thirty appointment is running a little late."

The two men settled themselves on a short sofa and she was about to sit down again when a voice bellowed, "Marie!" from the inner office. She laughed softly as she went to the inner office door, opened it, and went in. Joe and Hoss couldn't help but notice that she had a pronounced limp. The door opened again right after her and a short, painfully thin man popped out. The door closed again and they could hear the two voices talking quietly for a moment.

Marie opened the door and came out. She went to the hallway door, opened it and leaned out saying, "Wes, would you mind escorting Mr. Grunthaner out of the building? Then Mr. Eden asks that you have a twenty-four-hour guard posted on the accounting office."

The little man went pale at that, then completely white when Wes appeared in the doorway. Putting his head down, he scuttled out and Marie closed the door.

She looked at Hoss and Joe then and said, "Please go in now." They stood, went through the inner door, and she closed it behind them.

Adam looked up as he tossed a sheaf of papers into a basket on the edge of his desk and said, "Well kid, you made it. I wasn't sure if you would." He looked up at Hoss who had stopped dead in his tracks, the big man's open, guileless face had everything he was thinking written plainly on it.

The man behind the desk cocked his head to the side and laughed, "I don't think the big guy here shares your certainty that I'm your brother. But you weren't kidding, we really don't look anything alike."

He stood and gestured for the two to have a seat, which they did in two leather armchairs placed at right angles to the desk. A knock sounded then and the black woman opened the door to look in.

"Yes, Marie?"

"Another Mr. Cartwright is on his way up."

"Good, please send him right in when he gets here."

"That must be Pa, but how...?" his voice trailed off.

Adam gave Joe a knowing smile, "I figured you might have a little trouble finding both of them, so I had some of my people watch for him to send him up if he returned."

They heard Marie speaking to someone and the door opened. Ben walked in with a puzzled look on his face, glanced at his two seated sons, but stopped dead in the same way Hoss had when he saw Adam. He started to speak, but Adam put up a hand to stop him.

"No. Don't say anything," he said as he slowly stood, staring at Ben intently.

He slowly came out from behind the desk, his narrowing eyes still locked on Ben's face. "Ash Hollow," he said and stopped moving. Shaking his head slightly as though trying to clear it he took a few more steps forward, "You had black hair then."

Raising a hand to the back of his neck, Adam clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. "Someone just died, a woman." He raised blazing eyes to look at Ben again and took a few more steps forward.

"Her name was Ingrid...no, it was Inger," Turning his head to the side he looked at Hoss. "She was your mother," he said then he grimaced, putting both hands to either side of his head.

Ben stepped forward and took hold of Adam by the shoulders to steady him and both Hoss and Joe had gotten to their feet.

Adam stood there with his head hanging and his eyes closed as he shook with pain. His shaking soon eased and he opened his eyes to look at Joe, "Damn kid, you were telling me the truth. I can't believe it."

Ben still had a tight grip on Adam's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

They were all startled when they heard Adam making an odd, choking sound against his father's shoulder. When he leaned back in his father's arms they could see he was laughing and shaking his head.

"Now why does that sound so familiar?" he said as he slanted a sideways look at Joe. He stepped back out of Ben's arms and went behind the desk, took a piece of paper, and quickly wrote on it as he bellowed, "Marie!"

The woman popped through the door and limped into the room as Adam moved to meet her halfway. Handing her the folded note he asked, "Theodora does have hours at the hospital today, doesn't she?" Marie nodded. "Please ask Willie to take this note over to her as quickly as he can."

She smiled at the other three men with curious eyes, then went quietly out the door.

Adam shook his head again as he came up to his father. He took Ben by the arm and led him to a small sofa against the wall. Joe came to sit next to his him so Adam could take the facing chair. Once he was seated Adam rubbed both temples and said, "I can't believe it, it's been six years without a clue, not an inkling as to who I was, and now this."

Ben looked at him with concern, "Is it still that painful?"

"You could say that," his eldest son said through clenched teeth and put his head down to rub the back of his neck with both hands. In a minute he looked up and took a deep breath. "And that was only a few memories. I think I might have passed out if there had been many more."

Ben turned to Joe with a questioning look.

"Uh...I was just walking down the street this morning Pa, and caught a glimpse of a face through a window that looked familiar," Joe gestured helplessly, "and there he was."

Adam sat up, seemingly almost recovered, when the door flew open and a petite, black-haired woman rushed in. The four men automatically stood. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked, grabbing Adam and went on tip-toe to look intently into his eyes while trying to push up his right eyelid.

"Nothing is wrong, I'm fine," he chuckled as he pulled his head back out of her reach.

"When I got your note I thought something had happened to you," she said anxiously as she tipped her heart-shaped face up to him.

"Something has, but it's not a medical emergency," he said then trapped her hands in his. "Now stop that. We have company," he said as he nodded toward the other men.

The quick glance she gave Ben turned into a double take. She looked back and forth between the father and son a few times then slowly walked up to the white-haired man, her eyes never leaving his face. When she reached him she gently put a hand on either side of his head and turned it to one side, and then the other.

"You're his father, aren't you?"

He smiled, nodded down at her, and was knocked backward a step when she burst into tears and threw her arms around him.

Adam laughed as he came forward to pry his wife off his father. He put his arms around her and stood there patting her on the back, giving her a chance to pull herself together. When the storm seemed to be over he reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he handed to her.

As he put his hands on her shoulders, he looked down into her face and asked, "Are you alright now?"

She nodded then hid her face in his chest, 'I'm so embarrassed, I've never done anything like that before."

"I know," Adam shook his head as he looked at Joe. "In case you were wondering, this is the surgeon I told you about who brought me back. She's also my wife, Theadora."

All three men looked at her in surprise and when she looked up Adam turned her around to face them, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Thea, this is my father Benjamin Cartwright." She smiled sheepishly at him and nodded. Ben smiled back.

Her husband turned her to the right, "And this is my brother Hoss Cartwright," she gave Hoss her hand and smiled up into his face, "You must have had a different mother," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Hoss said shyly and she patted his hand.

Adam turned her to the left, "And this is my youngest brother, Joseph Cartwright," he said leaning down and speaking low into her ear. "He's the one who found me."

She moved away from Adam, stepped right up to Joe and put her arms around him and squeezed him as hard as she could. Her grip was so strong she startled a small grunt out of him.

"Thank you, Joe, I'll be grateful to you for as long as I live," she said then stepped back to stand next to Adam. She smiled up into her husband's face, but the smile faded when she noticed how pale he was. He knew she was about to make another attempt to examine him so he distracted her by saying, "Don't you think it's time for you to head home?" His tactic worked.

"Oh, dear Lord, you're right! I have so much to do before dinner." She rushed to the door, but looked back at Adam, "You are bringing them home with you?"

"Of course," he responded and she gave him a pleased grin. "Have they been staying here?"

At his nod she said, "I'll tell Marie to have their things moved to the house," then she slipped out the door. The room seemed strangely quiet after she was gone.

"Hmmm...now that's something I haven't seen before," Adam mused, stroking his beard.

"What?" Joe asked.

"I've never seen her that overcome."

Ben couldn't believe it, "Never?"

"No never. I mean I've seen her cry before, but never completely lose control like that," he grinned wickedly. "I just might be able to have a little fun with this."

"How long have you been hitched, Adam?" Hoss asked.

"Five years as of tomorrow," Adam answered, "and you've arrived just in time for the celebration."

"Did you invite a lot of people?" Joe asked.

"Only everyone - employees, friends, business acquaintances. I think everyone Thea has ever met. She's big-hearted that way."

"And enthusiastic," Ben laughed.

"Yeah, that too," Adam agreed. "I think it is safe for me to leave now. Thea's probably made it home already, so I don't have to worry she'll throw me down on the floor and try to give me a complete physical."

His newfound family members nodded, smiling at that mental picture and Ben asked, "What did you mean when you said she was the surgeon that brought you back?"

"Yeah Adam, show Pa your scars," Joe was being helpful as usual.

"No. I'm not going to take my shirt off here. Marie would be scandalized and she would know since she's listening at the door," he said and they heard muffled laughter retreating.

Adam shook his head, grinning. "She's a good secretary, but nosey, as I guess all good secretaries need to be." He opened the office door to usher his family out. Marie was gone.

"I couldn't help but notice the trouble she has walking," Ben said.

"She's been that way since childhood," Adam responded. "I still can't believe no one would hire her just because of that. She's highly intelligent, a good worker, and very loyal. But their loss is my gain."

As they left the outer office they saw Wes was still in the hall. "Do you need anything Mr. Eden?" he said as he hurried up to lock the door.

Adam clapped the huge man on the back, "Wes, it looks like you won't be calling me Mr. Eden anymore. My last name is Cartwright and this is my father, Ben and my two brothers, Hoss and Joe."

The guard turned to Ben and gave him a surprisingly beautiful smile along with his hand. "Pleased to meet you sir," he said and nodded at Joe and Hoss. The ferocious look he had given them before was gone.

"I won't be in tomorrow but you are coming tomorrow night, aren't you?"

Wes smiled, "You bet, I wouldn't dare not come; your missus would track me down and make me sorry. Especially since I'm bringing my intended and Thea wants to meet her."

Joe whispered to Hoss, "That I have got to see." Hoss gave him a quick frown of warning to behave.

"Did you escort Grunthaner out and put a guard on the accounting office?" Adam asked.

"Yes sir," Wes responded, "what did he do?"

"He's been embezzling."

"After everything you've done for him?" Wes's ferocious look was back.

"I'm sorry to say he has, and there is no doubt," Adam shrugged. "Finding the evidence took a while, but I eventually did."

"I never liked that weasel," Wes said.

"I know, and it looks like your instincts were right, but I felt I had to give him a chance. See you tomorrow night," Adam said and led the way down to that end of the hall until they were standing in front of a blank wall. His family exchanged puzzled glances.

Adam grinned and moved a piece of the molding aside to reveal a keyhole. When he inserted the key and turned it they heard a loud click and the whole wall swung back. "This hotel is full of unusual features," was all he said by way of explanation.

He led them through, then pushed the door-wall back in place. Standing on a landing they could see a staircase that ended at another blank wall, which also swung aside when Adam unlocked it. Then they entered a utility area with an outside door. When they finally emerged on the side street, a gleaming black coach pulled up in front of them.

Adam opened the door and waited while his family climbed in. He looked up at the driver and said, "Straight home please, David," then climbed in and closed the door.


	3. L & F PT 1 CH 3 SURPRISES

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

SURPRISES

Chapter 3

The coach pulled up in front of a huge, gray stone mansion a mere ten minutes later and Adam was out before the driver could climb down to open the door.

He held the door as his family descended and then grinned at their expressions when they took in the house.

Joe was the last one out and he looked up at the house with his mouth open. "Geez Adam, you could use this as another hotel. It's almost as big as Eden House."

Adam chuckled as he closed the coach door and rapped on it to let David know he could drive on. He didn't respond to Joe's comment, just led the way up the front stairs to a double door set with panes of etched glass.

Entering a huge front hall with a raised area at the door, they followed Adam down four steps and when he stopped in the middle of the hall he said, "Cover your ears." Of course, Joe had to ask why.

"Don't ask questions, just do it," his brother replied as he put two fingers to his lips and blew an incredibly loud, ear-piercing whistle. All hell broke loose.

People and dogs came from all directions. A huge black dog of indeterminate breed came bounding down a staircase on the left side of the hall. Two small and equally ambiguous ones followed. The dogs all jumped on Adam and he was almost knocked down, but managed to stay on his feet. After giving their master numerous licks and sniffs, they turned to running around the room and barking like lunatics.

Adam laughed as more people who were clearly domestic help came to stand in the doorways to watch the circus. Two of the staff managed to capture the dogs and they were taken away. Everyone looked up when they heard a high voice carol, "Pa's home!"

A small child, a girl, was coming down the stairs as fast as her little legs could manage. Adam started up, and when he was three steps away she launched herself at him and flew into his arms. He laughed again and shifted the child to his left hip as he walked up to his father.

"Pa," he said with pride, "I'd like you to meet your granddaughter, Annalise."

Ben's eyes were shining as the little girl looked up at him then put her arms out. She closely resembled her mother, but with green eyes. He took the child into his arms and she laughed up into his face as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Another young voice yelled, "Pa!" and they all turned to see a small boy come running through the archway to their right. He barreled into his father and shrieked with delight as Adam tossed him into the air then caught him. He set the child down and took his hand to walk over to Ben. When the two of them were standing in front of his father Adam grinned, "Pa, I would like you to meet your grandson, Alexander."

By this time Ben was a little overwhelmed. He looked down at the child and was not surprised to see he looked exactly like Adam. The little boy cocked his head to the side and grinned. "Up," he demanded, stretching his arms up to Ben. His grandfather scooped him up with his free arm and looked at Adam, torn between shock and happiness. His eldest son grinned at him and said, "Surprise!"

Ben looked from child to child a few times then looked at Adam helplessly. Laughing he said, "Yes, they're twins," then took Annalise back from his father and carried her over to Joe. As he handed her over to his brother the little girl giggled and went to him willingly. When Joe was holding her she patted his face with her hands and said, "You're pretty!"

Everyone laughed. Joe turned red with embarrassment and looked down into her sweet face. "How old are you?" The little girl held up one hand and folded down her thumb. "I'm this many," she said proudly and wiggled them at her new uncle. Joe chuckled and hugged her close.

Adam went back to Ben and took Alexander, set him down, and held his hand as they walked over to Hoss. The little boy looked up at his uncle and almost tipped over, but his father put out a hand to keep him from falling over backward.

"Gee!" the child piped, "I bet you can see over anything!"

Hoss laughed and went down on one knee in front of the boy. "Would you like to come up and see for yourself, young fella?" The boy looked up at his father, "Can I, Pa?" Adam smoothed the boy's hair back with a hand on top of his head and said, "Sure, but just be careful you don't hurt him."

"Now how could a little bit of a thing like him hurt me?" Hoss scoffed.

His elder brother shook his head with a raised eyebrow, "You don't know Alexander."

Hoss laughed and settled the small boy on his shoulder and stood, one arm holding him by the legs. Alexander giggled with delight then sat there quietly looking around from his new vantage point.

Adam went back to stand in front of his father. "Are you alright?" he said, putting his hands on his father's upper arms, concerned with the shock he still saw there. Ben nodded, but said, "It's all a little much to take in at one time; finding you and getting a daughter-in-law and grandchildren in the space of a few hours. I mean it's wonderful, but hard to take in."

His eldest son put an arm across his shoulders and said, "Then let's all go into my office for a little peace and quiet. This way gentlemen," he said as he steered his father to a door under the staircase with Joe and Hoss, carrying the children, following closely behind.

While the front hall seemed a little cold, being mostly stone and marble, Adam's office was warm and inviting, paneled with golden oak and furnished with large, comfortable furniture. The room was actually huge and bore a suspicious resemblance to the great-room at the ranch.

Joe, Hoss, and Ben looked around and then at each other with raised eyebrows. Adam looked around too then shook his head. "Well, I guess I did remember something after all. Have a seat and relax."

Hoss plucked Alexander off his shoulder then set the child on his lap. The boy looked around at the three new family members with bright eyes for a bit then climbed down. He trotted over to his father and tugged on his hand. Adam stood and the child dragged him over to Ben then looked up at his father demanding, "Who?"

Adam smiled and said, "Alex, this is your grandfather."

"Oh," the boy thought about this for a moment then said, "What's a grandfather?" His father sat down next to Ben on the sofa and plopped the boy onto his lap.

"You know that you are my son, right?" Alexander nodded, "You're my Pa," he said, his eyes never leaving his father's.

"Well," Adam continued, "I am his son."

"Oh," Alexander said and thought about it some more. "He's your Pa?" he said uncertainly. His father nodded, "Right."

The boy then turned his intent gaze to Joe and Hoss, but Adam answered his question before it was asked. "You are Annalise's brother, right?" Alexander nodded. "Joe and Hoss are MY brothers." Alexander looked at the two men and seemed to accept that without much of a problem. "Are they twins, too?" he asked.

Everyone laughed, "No Alexander," his father said and the child climbed down. "Oh, that's too bad, being twins is fun," he said as he went to poke Annalise who had almost fallen asleep snuggled up to Joe.

"Hey!" he said. The little girl looked down her nose at him. "What?" she answered.

"You know what a grandfather is?" The boy was puffed up with his new knowledge.

Annalise sat up with an annoyed expression. Pointing to Joe she said, "Uncle Pretty, Pa's brother." She then pointed to Hoss and said, "Uncle Horse, Pa's brother." Then she pointed to Ben. "Grandpa," she said and looked at her brother again. "Pa's pa." she said with a nod of finality and snuggled back into Joe's arms.

"Oh," Alexander said his favorite word then trotted up to his grandfather, climbed into his lap and snuggled in too.

"They're both very intelligent Adam," Ben said with pride.

"I know," Adam laughed ruefully, "and keeping up with them can be very hard work."

The back door to the office opened then and Thea came in. "I should have known I would find them here," she said smiling.

"Where else would they be?" her husband answered reasonably.

Thea nodded. "Well, dinner is ready if anyone is hungry." They all stood and she took Hoss's hand. "You come with me young man and I'll make sure you don't get lost in this mountain of a house." Hoss chuckled and let himself be pulled along.

Joe went out next still holding the little girl. Ben with Alexander and Adam trailed a little behind.

"Pa, we'll come back here after dinner and talk. That subject isn't meant for little people."

His father nodded, "I agree."

"What's a subject, Pa?" Alexander asked.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with," his father said firmly.

"Oh," the boy said, accepting his father's edict without an argument. Looking up at his grandfather as they entered the dining room he said, "I know a secret."

"You do?"

The boy nodded vigorously, "Uh huh, Ma is going to have a baby in Demember."

Thea clapped a hand over her eyes, "Oh dear Lord," she muttered and fled the room.

Adam bit back a laugh then looked at his brothers. "Don't laugh," he warned them. "She has had enough embarrassment for one day."

Hoss and Ben were managing to hold their laughter back with no trouble, but Adam could see Joe was fighting a losing battle. He rushed up to him, plucked his daughter out of Joe's arms, handed her to Hoss then dragged Joe out of the room and into the next room, and then into the room after that. Just as Adam closed the door behind them Joe gave in and burst out laughing so hard he bent over.

Adam couldn't keep his own amusement back and the two of them laughed until they couldn't stand anymore. They were sitting on the floor when they finally stopped. Adam shook his head and wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "I swear, that boy is going to be the death of me some day," he said and clapped Joe on the back, knocking him over.

"Oh God," Joe sighed and stretched out on his back, "I like that kid."

"You should," his brother replied cryptically as Joe was shaking his head.

"I just can't believe this; finding you, alive and well. . . with a wife. . . and children. I haven't felt this good in a very long time."

"I'm glad you feel that way Joe, but we better get back before we both end up in deep trouble."

"Alright," his brother said and the two climbed wearily to their feet. "I just can't wait to see the looks on everyone's face when you come home."

Joe was in front of him so he couldn't see his older brother's expression. Adam started to respond, but then stopped. That conversation would be best if left until later; much, much later.


	4. L & F PT 1 CH 4 DINNER CONVERSATION

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

DINNER CONVERSATION

Chapter 4

When the two men returned they found the rest of the family already seated and waiting for them. Thea's cheeks were still slightly flushed, but a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Adam took his seat at the head of the table, his father on his right, Hoss on his left, and Joe next to his father. The children sat on either side of Thea in chairs that were almost the same as the rest, except higher..

Right after Adam and Joe were seated the door to the kitchen opened and a line of servers came in. The number of dishes being offered was staggering and when the last person escaped back to the kitchen Adam was shaking his head at his wife.

"It's a special occasion," she said in her own defense, as her husband turned to his father. "We don't usually do this, but Thea is right, this is a special occasion."

"So Adam," Joe said getting right to the point, "just how many businesses do you own here?"

Adam slanted a sideways look at his brother, "The hotel, the club, and a publishing firm."

Joe whistled and Thea gave him a chiding look, whistling was not acceptable behavior at table. "Sorry," he said to her then turned back to Adam to ask more questions, but stopped after he received another look, this time from his father.

The children had been unusually quiet, mostly due to fascination with their new family members; they were staring openly and when Thea noticed she told them to stop, but she spoke so low no one else could hear her.

Ben turned to Adam. "I just realized you haven't told us anything about Thea's family."

Adam looked down the table at his wife, "I'm sorry to say there's a good reason for that, Pa. She doesn't have any - something we had in common until now."

Her new family members turned to her with sympathetic expressions, and she smiled ruefully, "It's true, I don't, not really. Sir Richard Westwood took me in when my mother died during childbirth. He was the physician who delivered me, but my mother had no identification and was gone before he could find out who she was. No one came to claim either of us, so he adopted me. I've traveled the world with him from the time I was born." She turned back to her daughter when the child dropped her spoon.

Hoss shook his head, "That's just plain awful."

"No, not really," Thea said quietly, "I was very lucky to have Doc to take care of me. A lot of children are left with no one." She smiled at Adam. "And I certainly received a complete education," she laughed.

At that moment Alexander decided he had been quiet long enough, "Pa, what's a 'bangtail'?"

The adults at the table, except his father, froze being shocked at hearing a slang term for a lady of the evening coming from a four-year-old.

Adam looked down and his lips tightened. He cleared his throat then looked at his son. "Alexander, where did you hear that word?"

"Clarence said it when a pretty lady was walking by," was his young son's prompt reply.

Adam paused as his eyes narrowed. "And when did you hear this?"

"This morn..." Alexander started to say then stopped, his face paled and he hung his head.

"You ran away from Leslie again today, didn't you?"

The boy squirmed in his chair, but didn't say anything.

"I'm waiting for an answer, Alexander."

The boy spoke, "Yes sir."

Adam drummed his fingers on his knee for a moment, "Alexander, go to your room. I will be up later."

His son looked up and his mouth opened, but Adam cut his protest off by giving him a stern look and saying, "No discussion. Now go."

Alexander slipped from his chair and slowly left the room. Immediately Annalise spoke up, "May I be excused, Pa?"

Her father said, "Yes, you may," and she quickly slid from her chair and almost ran to the door.

"Annalise," Adam said quietly, and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Yes Pa?"

"You will not go to Alexander's room,"

"Yes sir," she said defeated and left, closing the door behind her.

When he heard the door close, Adam looked up at the ceiling while deeply sighing. He shook his head then looked at Thea. She was biting her lower lip, but a small laugh still escaped.

"Do you see it too?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I noticed right away and it's almost uncanny."

"What?" Joe asked looking at Thea, but Adam had turned to his father, "Do you see it, Pa?"

Ben nodded, trying not to laugh.

Hoss didn't need to be asked, "I do too."

"See what?" Joe was becoming exasperated, a feeling that only deepened when they all laughed.

"Joe," Adam said, "my son may look like me, but on the inside he's you."

"Well, I don't see it."

"Of course you don't, you can't see yourself the way we can." Adam insisted as the others nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, so how is he like me?" Joe insisted.

"His facial expressions," Thea pointed out.

"His laugh," Ben added.

Hoss spoke up, "The way he just says whatever comes into his head," he turned to his younger brother. "You were exactly like that."

"And, last but not least, his talent for getting himself in trouble," Adam finished.

Joe was still shaking his head, ready to argue when Thea brought up another point.

"Tell me, have you always assumed that these characteristics of Joe's came from his mother?"

Ben nodded, "Yes, I believe we have."

"Well, since we all basically agree that these characteristics came to Alexander through his father, that would mean they came from a ancestor in common." She paused, bit her lower lip again and looked at Ben. "And since they have different mothers, that ancestor in common would have to be... well ...you."

Hoss and Adam looked at each other in surprise, and then at their father, grinning.

"Oh no," Ben said.

"Oh yes," Adam replied pleased with his wife's astute observation. "Those are the laws of nature and breeding Pa, you know that."

Hoss just sat there, grinning his widest grin.

Thea sighed and stood, signaling the end of the meal. "Why don't you all go into Adam's office and have that private talk I know you have been wanting to have."

Adam nodded and stood, "I'm sure you three remember how to get there, so make yourselves at home. I'll be down as soon as I have a little talk with Alexander," he headed for the door, but Thea called to him.

"Adam, I'll be in Annalise's room getting her ready for bed, so please let me know when you're finished so I can do the same with Alex."

Her husband just nodded and left.

The other three men looked at Thea expecting her to be upset at the idea of Alexander being punished, but she said, "He won't be long. If I know my husband, and I do, this latest misdeed of Alexander's is going to call for some serious thought on his father's part to find a suitable punishment." She moved toward the kitchen door, "I'll be sending a cart to the office with coffee and desert, so just make yourselves comfortable." Smiling widely at them she turned and then disappeared through the kitchen door.

Ben looked at his sons, "Do either of you remember where it is?" Hoss and Joe shook their heads. "Well, I guess we will stumble across it eventually," Ben laughed and the three went in search of the office.

When they finally made it there the cart was already in the room, so they helped themselves and settled down to wait for Adam; Thea was right, he didn't take long. When he came in and saw the amusement on his father's face he rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, then settled himself into the rocking chair next to Ben.

"Did you decide on a punishment yet?" Hoss asked.

"No, I left him thinking about what he thinks his punishment should be," Adam answered.

Ben laughed and his eldest son gave him a narrow look, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yes, I have to admit I am."

Adam stretched his arms over his head and said, "Excuse me for a moment," moved to a clear space then bent over until his hands were flat on the floor in front of him. He then astonished his family by doing an expert handstand. He stayed that way for a moment then slowly lowered his head toward the floor. As soon as his head touched he pulled his legs in and rolled, coming lithely to his feet.

He sat down in the rocking chair again saying, "Sometimes that's the only way I can get my back into alignment. Someday you'll have to tell me how I broke it, but not tonight. Tonight you three get to ask the questions."

"How did you know you broke your back before today?" Joe asked, startled. His brother gave him a look that said Joe was being dense. "Oh right, Thea."

Ben spoke next, "Just what did happen to you? I looked for you all over Chicago and couldn't find a single thing."

"That's because I was in New York. How I got there, I have no idea, but that's how I ended up in the morgue in the hospital where Thea was working. I never did get the whole story and I don't remember anything about it at all. She's the one who found me."

"Found you?"

"She was the doctor who was supposed to do the post mortem, and I was very lucky that she didn't wait like most doctors would. If she hadn't gotten to me when she did I would be dead. In fact, I was dead for a little while, but Thea brought me back and wouldn't let me go."

"How'd she do that?" Hoss asked.

"Chest compressions," he said and his family looked at him blankly. "Thea tells me that's a technique that was used on Lincoln by a Union Army surgeon when he was shot. You press on the chest near the heart to artificially pump the blood," he shook his head. "She also used some kind of drug she learned about while in China, some kind of stimulant. All I know is it worked and I woke up to agony."

Ben sat forward, his face drawn with concern, "Agony?"

Adam sighed then said, "I guess the best way for you to understand is to let you see the scars like Joe suggested." He stood and unbuttoned his shirt then shrugged out of it. His chest and back were covered with thin, white, smooth scars, almost too many to count. He turned around when he heard his father's quick intake of breath and saw him flinch.

"Who could do something so vicious," Ben said.

Putting his shirt back on, Adam said, "I don't know, and I don't think I ever will know. I have no clear idea as to why either." He sat back in the rocking chair and looked at Hoss when he spoke.

"I don't know how that pretty little thing you married could've handled something like that."

"Don't let her looks fool you Hoss, she's the strongest person I know." He smiled, "She put me back together, then hounded me, and nagged me, and bullied me until I did what she wanted. And I have to say she came up with some of the most unusual treatments," he said as he laughed. "The scars are bad enough, but I had quite a few broken bones as well, so I was a captive audience."

"Dear Lord," Joe breathed.

"What were these treatments you thought were unusual?" Ben asked.

"Well, for example, gymnastics for strength, flexibility, and balance. I'm still surprised I didn't re-break anything the way I kept falling down. But it worked." He held up his strong, long-fingered hands, "Can you see how this one finger isn't quite straight? My hands were badly broken too so I think I at least got a few good shots in before I went down."

"I hope so too," Joe said staunchly.

Adam smiled at him, "To get my hands back into shape, the first thing she had me do was squeeze things."

"What things?" Joe laughed.

"Balls."

"What?"

"Leather balls. I don't know how she made them, but every time I wore one out, she made another one that was harder to squeeze. Then we moved on to playing the piano - now that was painful, but worth it. Then I learned how to juggle for hand-eye coordination."

He looked around at his father and brothers, smiling at their wide-eyed expressions. "But even with all the physical problems the worst thing, the thing I had the hardest time accepting was forgetting how to read."

"You couldn't read!" Joe and Hoss exclaimed in unison.

Adam shook his head, "No, not a word. I had taken a few severe blows to the head and my brain swelled. And Thea believes that the problem with my memory is just as much emotional as it is physical."

"That must have almost driven you crazy," his father said.

"Yes, and what was driving me even more insane was not knowing who I was. But eventually I came to accept it and decided to go on and do something with my future since that's all I had."

The four men sat silently for a minute and they heard a small knock at the office door. Adam's brow furrowed and he called, "Come in."

The door opened and Alexander took a tentative step into the room and looked at his father anxiously.

"What are you doing up? Couldn't you sleep?" Adam asked him.

The boy shook his head, "I was thinkin' about what you said."

His father didn't say anything for a moment as he studied his son trying to figure out what he was up to. Then he patted his knee saying, "Come here," and Alexander rushed over to him. Adam lifted the boy into his lap and put his arms around him.

"I know I'm not supposed to be up, but had to ask you something Pa, and I just couldn't wait."

"All right, ask your question."

"Do you hate me?"

Adam stiffened, "What!"

"Do you hate me Pa, because I'm bad?"

"Alexander, I don't ever want to hear you say something like that again," he cupped a hand around the boy's chin and tipped his head up until he was looking Alexander in the eye. "You are my son, and I love you. That is a fact, something that will never change. No matter what you do, no matter where you go you will always be my son, and I would never, ever hate you," he paused. "Now, do you believe me?"

"Yes, Pa."

"Good, because asking me if I hate you is an insult to me as your father, don't ever question it again." He tightened his arms around Alexander and began to rock, "But you have to learn Alexander, what you do does affect other people. Because you insisted on disobeying me Leslie could have lost her job today. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

The boy nodded.

"And I think first thing tomorrow you need to go and apologize to her. What do you think?"

"Yes Pa," Alexander said with a huge yawn.

Adam looked down and saw the boy's eyes were already closed. "Go to sleep, Alexander," his father told him and for once, his son did what he was told.

Adam just sighed and kept rocking as the other three men stood.

When they moved toward the door Adam called, "Good night. Someone will be in the hall to show you to your rooms." But his eyes were still on his son.

Joe and Hoss went through the door and Ben paused for a moment to look back. He smiled when he saw his eldest son brush Alex's hair back with a gentle hand then lean down to kiss him on the forehead. The boy snuggled closer to his father as Adam leaned back in the chair and continued to rock.

Ben closed the door quietly as he left.


	5. L & F PT 1 CH 5 CELEBRATION

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

CELEBRATION

Chapter 5

Late afternoon of the next day the four men were standing in the huge entrance hall and Adam's brothers were making fun of the fancy, black embroidered, rose-colored velvet vest he was wearing with his black suit. He refused to be offended and just smiled saying, "You'll understand in a minute."

He had no sooner said that when they heard a woman's voice saying, "Is everybody ready?" They all turned and looked up the staircase.

Thea smiled down at them from the middle step, her long, curly black hair loose and flowing down her back. A gold circlet came to a downward point in the middle of her forehead and a matching gilded belt circled her hips. The dress was made of the same material as Adam's vest and was medieval in style.

Her long sleeves hugged her slender arms closely and came to points on the backs of her hands. The sweetheart neckline dipped low in the front then rose up in the back, cradling her slender neck. The dress was form fitting down to the girdle at her hips, then the skirt fell into graceful folds with a small train in the back. Her smile was sweet and her fine hazel eyes looked down at them all with true affection.

She continued down the steps and Adam went to meet her as the other three men continued to stare. When Adam took her hand he said, "We all look like rough peasants compared to you," he bowed at the waist and kissed her hand.

Laughing, she looked at his vest and said, "Alright, who couldn't keep their mouth shut? This dress was supposed to be a secret."

He laughed, "Haven't you realized yet that I know all and see all?" as they came forward and joined the group. Ben took her other hand and said, "My dear, you are absolutely stunning." She flushed a becoming pink, and taking her hand back from Adam she stretched up on her toes to kiss Ben on the cheek.

As she stepped back and smiled up at him, her head cocked to the side. "Would you mind if I called you 'Pa' too?" she said shyly.

Ben took her other hand then leaned down to kiss her on both cheeks, "I would like that very much," he said and saw the quick shine of tears in her eyes before she put her arms around him. They stayed in each other's arms until they heard Adam clear his throat, "I hate to break this up, but the great horde will be descending on us any minute."

Thea stepped back and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, you're right," she turned away and noticed all the smiling house staff watching from the two arches on either side of the hall. "Places everybody!" she laughed then turned to Hoss and Joe.

"You two will stand next to me and I will introduce you, while Adam introduces your father." She took them both by the hand and pulled them toward the door where Adam and Ben were already standing by the wall to the left of the raised entrance.

A young man stood at attention next to the door and Joe recognized him from the front desk at the hotel. He had seemed extremely unfriendly before, but now he nodded pleasantly at Joe as a knock sounded on the door.

The influx of guests began, and the first to arrive were Wes and his fiancé'. When the couple was standing in front of Thea Wes said, "Mrs. Cartwright, may I present my intended Dulcy Miller?" his craggy face shone with pride.

Thea stepped forward and took both of the other woman's hands in her own. "I am so pleased to finally meet you," she said as she smiled up into the tall woman's gorgeous face. Dulcy smiled back, "Thank you so much for inviting me, Mrs. Eden...I mean Cartwright."

Thea took stock of the other woman's brilliant blue eyes, flame-red hair, and beautiful figure. "Wes is part of our family and we think very highly of him. That means you are family now too, so please call me Thea."

Joe and Hoss exchanged looks; they were in agreement that Adam had chosen well in his wife and their eyes shone with pride in their new sister. Thea then introduced Dulcy to them and after the couple moved on Joe leaned forward across Hoss and mouthed "Wow!" to Thea. She giggled, "She IS gorgeous isn't she? But more importantly, I think she and Wes will be very happy together."

Hoss looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "If you say so ma'am," and all three laughed.

A constant stream of people went past and an hour later, when it slowed to a trickle Thea called a halt to the receiving line. Leaving Adam to show Ben around, she took Joe and Hoss by the hand and pulled them through the crowd. She didn't give them a chance to ask where they were going and in a moment she stopped in front of a willowy blonde with a pretty face and sparkling gray eyes.

"Michelle, I am so glad I found you," Thea said, pulling a smiling Joe forward. "Would you do me a huge favor and show my brother-in-law around? He's only been here for one day and I don't want him to get lost in this monster of a house."

Michelle smiled at Thea then her laughing eyes went to Joe. "For you, Thea," she said with a slight French accent, "I would do anything, no matter how difficult or painful."

Thea grinned at her, aware that the girl knew what she was up to. She took Michelle's hand and placed it in Joe's saying, "Thank you, love. I won't forget your kindness." She took Hoss's arm and started tugging him away as Joe raised an eyebrow and nodded his thanks to her.

Hoss was chuckling, "So who did you pick for me?"

Glancing up at him, she murmured, "You know," and in a moment they stopped in front of a petite strawberry blonde with a well-endowed figure, pink cheeks, and warm brown eyes.

"Cassandra! There you are, you're the only one I know I can trust to show my new brother-in-law around."

The girl smiled up at Hoss shyly and her cheeks turned pinker. Hoss nodded at the fresh-faced young woman, "Pleased to meet you ma'am," he said and as Cassandra took his arm he mouthed "Thank you," to Thea.

She winked at him and hurried away to make her inspection of the house to be sure everything was running smoothly. It took some time because everywhere she went people wanted to talk to her, especially about the new family members, but she kept managing to escape.

After she checked on the children, she made her way to the ballroom and found Adam standing exactly where she knew he would be, waiting for her so they could start the show. She hurried forward, took his hand and smiled up at him, her eyes glowing.

"You must be having a very good time." She nodded and the two stepped up onto a raised area at one end of the ballroom. Adam went to the piano and Thea picked up a violin. All conversation in the room stopped.

Adam put his hands to the keys, but what he started to play sounded off, unlike any recognizable tune. He stopped playing and gave Thea a puzzled look, scratching his head. She came over, turned the sheet music right side up, and then patted him on the head. The room erupted with laughter.

Ben was standing close to the stage on his son's left and when Adam turned his head to look at him he winked. His father nodded back, a pleased look in his eyes at the new facets to his son's personality.

Adam started playing what at first sounded like a light, classical tune that eventually devolved into "Get Along Home, Cindy, Cindy." By that time Thea had stopped playing the "violin" and was playing the "fiddle." When the crowd finally recognized the tune there was more laughter and people paired up to dance. Adam left the stage when that song was finished, but Thea stayed to play an Irish jig with the musicians who had been hired for the celebration.

She was smiling as she left the stage and came up to her husband and her father-in-law. "Is anyone else hungry?" she asked and both men nodded. As she took Adam's right arm and Ben's left she said, "Ooo, every woman here tonight is going to go green with envy when they see I've got the two handsomest men here all to myself."

Adam laughed, "Just because you played an Irish jig doesn't mean you have to pile on the blarney now." Ben chuckled and Thea slanted a sideways look at her husband.

"All right then," she said looking at her father-in-law and dropping Adam's arm, "I have THE handsomest man here tonight all to myself," and she walked away with Ben, her nose in the air. Her husband shook his head and followed closely behind.

Two hours later Joe finally managed to talk Michelle into going into the garden to walk with him. As they rounded a bend in the path, they heard voices coming from a gazebo that was covered with climbing roses. Joe smiled as he recognized one voice as Adam's. The smile was wiped off his face when he heard a female voice with some kind of accent. He looked down at Michelle, unsure about what to do. Then he made up his mind, led Michelle away, and asked her to please wait for him on a bench under a blossoming pear tree.

He marched toward the gazebo, but stopped when Adam said, "Joe, don't you dare come in here."

Joe put his hands on his hips and answered, "Who's in there with you?"

"Theadora."

"That doesn't sound like her."

"Go away Joseph, this is none of your business."

"But..."

"Joseph, GO."

Joe clenched his fists in frustration then turned on his heel and walked away, but did not go back to Michelle. Instead he doubled back and hid behind some latticework near the gazebo. He didn't have long to wait. In a few minutes Adam appeared on the steps, putting his suit coat on, and Joe could hear the female voice.

"_Il mio amore, non andare. Rimani qui con me, lontano dal mondo_," and Thea appeared on the top step.

Adam looked up at her and took her hand, "One of these days you're going to get me into some serious trouble." She just laughed, and Joe smiled in relief. He stayed where he was and almost didn't dare to breathe as the couple went past. He decided to wait a few moments before coming out and going back to the bench and to Michelle. But when he reached the flowering pear tree he saw Adam sitting on the bench, alone.

"Where's Michelle," he asked, standing in front of his brother.

"I sent her inside with Thea."

"Why?"

"So we could have a few words in private," Adam answered and then stood. He stepped up to Joe until they were almost nose-to-nose. Joe had to stop himself from taking an instinctual step back.

Adam looked him in the eye, "I do not cheat on my wife Joseph, and I can't believe you thought I would."

Joe kept his eyes on Adam's, although he wanted to look down and away from the expression in his brother's eyes - he actually looked hurt.

"I may not remember a lot of things, but I'm sure I would never have done something like that even as the 'old' Adam."

His younger brother did look down then and hung his head. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Joe, when a man apologizes to another man he looks him in the eye."

He looked up then and he could see Adam was no longer angry or hurt, just exasperated. Looking him in the eye as instructed he said, "Please accept my apology."

Adam nodded and put an arm around Joe's shoulders and started to guide him toward the back door. "Joe, I know you have to have time to get used to the changes in me, but my basic character has not changed. Being a man of integrity is very important to me, so please remember that. I don't even want to hear anyone joke about it."

He stopped at the back door and turned to look at Joe, "A man's good name is the only thing he has that is truly his own. Understand?"

Joe nodded and his brother smiled as he opened the door and waved him in. "Oh, and by the way, I didn't know you were hiding there waiting for us to come out. Thea did and I think she's a little irritated with you right now, so you might want to avoid her if you can."

Adam patted Joe on the shoulder. "Be afraid, young man," he said seriously then walked away grinning. That's when Joe decided it might be a good idea to hide in Adam's office for a while.

He carefully made his way there and heaved a sigh of relief as he backed through and closed the door. He turned around then and nearly jumped out of his skin when he came face-to-face with Thea. As he collapsed against the closed door he put a hand to his chest. Thea looked at him impassively with narrowed eyes.

"Having a heart seizure?"

Joe shook his head.

"Good, I don't want to feel sorry for you right now."

Joe took a deep breath, "Before you go any further just let me say I'm sorry, I never should have doubted Adam, and I never should have stayed to spy on you two."

Thea put her head to the side and looked at him intently. Apparently satisfied that Joe meant what he was saying, she relaxed.

"I'm sorry, too, Joe. But I can't help being protective of Adam." She smiled ruefully, "I know it's stupid, I mean he's a big boy and he can take care of himself. But I just can't stop, it's a habit hard to break."

Joe nodded; glad they were on friendly terms again. "How did you know I would come in here?"

"I knew Adam would warn you and I figured the logical place you would go to hide out is here."

"Do you want to go back to the party now?"

"No, I need a little time to myself. I love these celebrations, but they are exhausting." She turned away, "You go ahead and please do me a favor? Ask your father to come see me."

"Sure," Joe quickly agreed and surprisingly didn't ask any questions as to why.

"Thank you," she said as he slipped out the door.

Thea removed the gold circlet and gilded belt then curled up on the sofa to wait.

Ben walked through the door about fifteen minutes later and came to sit next to her. He took her hand saying, "Are you alright?"

She nodded and turned to him. "Ps, I've desperately needed someone to talk to for a long time." Her grip on his hand tightened as she continued, "You know your son better than anyone, you've known him his entire life, and I don't think he has changed all that much since you saw him last. Do you?"

He shook his head, "Actually I think the changes I see in Adam are for the better", he smiled happlily. "I guess what I really mean is that his personality has expanded, adding on, but not really changing."

The sighed in relief, "I'm so glad, that is what I thought."

He laughed, "Is that all you needed me for?"

She looked down and said a faint, "No," then seemed to make up her mind and looked up at him with troubled eyes.

"I believe I know who did that terrible thing to Adam and why. What I am not sure of is whether or not I should tell him." A single tear trailed down her cheek, "It's going to hurt his heart terribly, but may help him with recovering his memories." She put her hands over her face, "I just don't know what to do."

Ben did not answer her right away; he was taking his time to think this problem through.

"Well," he finally said, "it seems to me that if you were to tell him, now would be the perfect time."

She dropped her hands and looked at him, startled.

"I mean he has recovered his family now and that has definitely eased his mind. And I believe that helping Adam recover his memories is more important than trying to shield him from a harsh truth. After all, what are we without our memories?"

Thea nodded as she appeared to relax. "Thank you. I can see where Adam got his intelligence."

Ben gave her a dubious look, "I think the party has wound down and since there's no time like the present, would you like to tell him now?"

"Yes, while I still have the courage."

"I'll go send Adam in."

"No please, bring him in along with Joe and Hoss. You all deserve to know what happened." He patted her hand and went out the door.

She was shaking with nerves by the time they all came filing through the door. Adam took one look at her and hurried over. As he sat down next to her and took her hand he searched her face anxiously, "What is this about Theadora?"

His brothers and his father settled themselves into chairs surrounding the sofa and were quiet.

When she turned to look at him she was clenching her jaw so hard it shook. Her throat worked convulsively as she lost the battle with her tears, so she just let them flow.

"I believe I know who attacked you and why."

His expression showed he was badly shocked by her words, "You do?"

"I don't have any proof, but it all fits with what I saw and heard that night."

Her husband just stared at her, seemingly more baffled than anything else.

"Just please listen to what I have to say and then judge for yourself." She took a deep breath, "You and Allan were similar in build and coloring, weren't you?"

Adam shook his head to clear it, "Yes, but how did you know that?"

"Because I saw him. When I found you alive in the morgue Allan was on the table next to you. And the man I think did that to you was on the other side." She shuddered, "I was the one that performed the post mortem and signed the death certificates after I had taken care of you."

"So you saw the man who tried to kill me."

"Yes, I saw both of them."

"Both of them?"

"Yes," she looked at Ben, "you understand now, don't you?" He nodded.

She reached out and took her husband's other hand. "Adam," she said as gently as she could, "Allan didn't take you to Chicago to help him. He brought you there to take his place."

His hands tightened convulsively on hers and she winced slightly, but didn't pull away.

Adam looked around at his gathered family and breathed, "My God, that thought never occurred to me," he loosened his grip on her hands as he began to consider all the ramifications of this revelation.

"It wouldn't have occurred to me either if I hadn't seen the two of you laying side-by-side. And I recognized the other man. He was a professional killer."

"How did you know?"

"Even criminals go to the hospital and need doctors - the oath I took keeps me from turning them away." She sighed, "I also called in a lot of favors and all thei information I received fit. Allan owed a lot of money to some very seriously bad people who were threatening to kill him. Since the two of you looked so much alike he figured he could have you killed by being beaten to death so no one could tell the difference. Then he would leave his identification on you and dump your body somewhere." She rubbed a hand over her face, "Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for you, the thugs caught up to him before they stamped out every spark of life in you."

"I find this so hard to believe."

"I know, but I think I'm right."

"Somehow I know you're right, but that doesn't make it any easier."

She put her head down and leaned into him, "I'm so sorry," she said with a choked voice. His arms came around her and he held her tightly.

"What are you sorry for? You didn't have anything to do with it. And I'm glad you told me, this straightens out a lot of things I just couldn't understand before."

"But he almost destroyed you and you loved him like a brother," she insisted.

He took a deep breath, "Sometimes you have to look evil squarely in the face to take away the power it has over you."

"Then I did the right thing?" she still sounded unsure.

Adam leaned back to look her in the eye. "Yes," he simply said then gathered her even closer to him.

She hid her face in his chest and allowed herself to finally cry away the anxiety she had carried for six years.

Adam looked up when his father stood. "Thank you," he said as Ben came up to him and gave his shoulder a hard squeeze. He motioned to his other sons to follow him, and the three quietly left the room.

When they were on the other side of the closed door Joe spoke in a tight voice, "If that monster wasn't already dead I'd kill him myself."

Ben clapped his youngest son on the back, "I think you would have to get in a long line to do that, Joseph."

Hoss nodded in agreement, "But Thea would be first."

The three went up the stairs and to bed, although none of them would get much sleep that night. Neither would Adam.

Thea had soon fallen asleep exhausted, so Adam had stretched her out on the sofa with her head in his lap. He was trying to stay still and not disturb her, but more memories had started coming back to him and the pain in his head kept increasing.

"Damn," he said under his breath and started to rub his temples. In a few minutes the flood slowed, but the pressure did not ease. He shook his head as he sensed something coming and could almost see it. Then the vision of Allan, holding a gun on him and smiling with cold, dead eyes lanced through Adam's brain with a white-hot jolt of agony. Without making a single sound, he passed out.

The sun was just beginning to rise when he came to consciousness again and he looked around the room for a moment trying to place himself. When he put his hands to his face he realized he had bled from the nose.

"Oh no," he slid carefully out from under Thea and went to a mirror that was hanging by the door. The bleeding wasn't bad, but he didn't want anyone to see it.

He almost laughed as he peered into the mirror - he looked like he had been on a weeklong drinking binge. He winced at a stab of pain then quietly left the room and went down the hall to a water closet. He filled the sink with cold water, stuck his whole head into it and kept it there for as long as he could, then came back up gasping for air. Then he did it again. After the third dunking he started to feel almost human again.

He pulled a towel from a rack and briskly dried his face, beard, and hair. When he looked in the mirror again he decided he didn't look good, but was no longer in danger of frightening his children. He began to stroke his beard saying, "Hmmm..." Maybe it was time to think about shaving it off.

After hanging the towel up to dry, he went to the front door and stepped outside, closing it quietly behind him. He leaned back against the wall to the side of the door, folded his arms and watched a gorgeous sunrise as he realized he was finally whole again. All of his old memories had come back and somehow meshed with the new ones. He didn't know how, he was just thankful to God that it had happened.

His thoughts then turned to Allan's filthy betrayal and he actually smiled because he remembered one of Thea's favorite sayings. He said it out loud to himself, "No good deed goes unpunished."

The front door opened then and he glanced back to see his wife standing there. She looked at him uncertainly until he held a hand out to her. She took his hand and he pulled her in front of him and put his arms around her as she leaned back against him.

They watched the rest of the sunrise silently and when the last of the brilliant colors faded from the sky Thea sighed and said, "Umm...Adam, why are you all wet?" He started laughing even though it hurt, and bent his head down to rest his cheek on her hair.

Thea stretched, "I'm so sore from sleeping on that sofa, I think I'll go take a hot bath before everyone gets up." She started for the door, then paused to give him a familiar look over her shoulder with a wicked grin. She went inside.

Adam was still leaning his shoulder against the wall, waiting, when Thea hurried back, took him by the hand and yanked him through the door.


	6. L & F PT 1 CH 6 FUNERAL

LOST AND FOUND - PART I  
  
FUNERAL  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Joe came down late the next morning and when he went to the dining room he was told that his brother and family were out in the garden, so he ate quickly then hurried outside. The sky was a beautiful, clear blue with bright sunshine and a slightly cool breeze blowing. As he walked through the flowers blooming all along the path, he smiled to himself because he felt so good. His missing brother was found and the family was whole again, although now substantially increased.  
  
He stopped walking when he faintly heard the sound of children's laughter coming to him on the breeze. Following the sound he soon came upon Thea and her two children sitting on a blanket spread out on the springy grass under an oak tree. When the children spotted him they came running and each took a hand to drag him over to sit next to their mother.  
  
Thea looked at him with a brilliant smile, "Good morning! We were wondering when you would be joining us."  
  
"I guess I must not be used to staying up late celebrating."  
  
She laughed, "Did you have a good time?"  
  
"Just about the best."  
  
"Good," Thea said and bit back a giggle when an acorn fell right on top of Joe's head. The children felt no such constraints, laughing outright at their uncle.  
  
"Where's Adam?"  
  
"Oh, he's around here somewhere," she said vaguely, "He seldom takes a day off so when he does we try not to monopolize all of his time."  
  
"You know if I hadn't glanced in that window as I went by none of this would be happening now. What do you call it when something like . . ." He stopped in mid sentence; this time two acorns hit Joe in the head. Thea looked away and picked up some sewing she had been working on. "I think I know what you mean, it's kind of like fate, but something more."  
  
"Right," Joe said warming up to the subject. "I just can't quite remember the word - it sounds something like 'serene', but that isn't it."  
  
Thea looked down at her sewing so he couldn't see how the corners of her mouth were twitching. "Could it be 'serendipity'?"  
  
"That's it!" Joe chortled, then put his hand up to the top of his head. Three acorns had fallen this time. "Ow," he said and looked up into the tree to see his older brother draped over a large branch with both hands full of acorns. As soon as Joe spotted him, he let them all fall.  
  
Joe scrambled to get away, but Thea didn't move. Adam had anticipated which way the younger man would go so they only person they hit was his brother.  
  
The children were rolling on the ground laughing now, and Thea joined them in their laughter.  
  
"Morning Joe!" Adam called down the tree, "that's what we do to people around here who oversleep."  
  
Joe looked up and shaded his eyes with his hands. "That was a dirty trick!"  
  
"Yes it was, and if memory serves you've pulled plenty of those on me." Adam began to come down, swinging and dropping from branch to branch. In a moment he landed on his feet, right in front of Joe. He gave his younger brother a menacing smile.  
  
"Come on Adam, that was a long time ago."  
  
"You better start running." Adam said and started walking toward his brother who was backing up as quickly as he could. When his older brother lunged for him, he turned and started running as fast as his legs could go.  
  
Adam just stood there watching for a moment then turned around and went to the blanket to sit next to Thea.  
  
She laughed, giving him a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I just wanted to see how far he would go before he realized I wasn't chasing him."  
  
"You're being awfully naughty this morning."  
  
"I know," Adam said and stretched. "Look at him go! He'll reach the end of our property soon."  
  
Joe finally looked behind him and stopped running. They could just barely hear his inarticulate cry of rage as he threw up his arms in exasperation, and then he started jogging back.  
  
"You know, it's not nice to be fooling around with your brother's mind like that."  
  
"Believe me, he deserves every single little bit."  
  
"Oh, so that's what this is about?"  
  
"Yep, and I hope he's prepared for me to make his life a living hell for a while."  
  
Thea shook her head, "You just be careful and don't hurt him. Physically, I mean. Don't do anything that I'll have to fix."  
  
"I won't, I just want to torture him for a bit."  
  
She laughed and Adam stood as Joe came up to them.  
  
"What did you do that for?" he said, winded and definitely irritated at his brother.  
  
Adam shrugged his shoulders saying, "I don't know." Then he reached out and shoved Joe in the left shoulder, hard. "Tag, you're it," he said and ran toward his children.  
  
"Look out, Uncle Joe is it!"  
  
The children squeaked with delight and ran off in opposite directions.  
  
Joe looked at Thea. "What is WITH him this morning?"  
  
She shook her head, "'If memory serves,'" she quoted then raised her eyebrows at him.  
  
His mouth fell open, "You mean he's got them back?"  
  
Thea nodded, "Most of them and if I were you I would be very careful for a while. To Adam it's as if all these things from the past have just happened. Including every joke you ever pulled on him."  
  
Joe paled for a moment, but then seemed to recover quickly. "Well, at least he has them back," he said and took off after Alexander who had decided to try and dart past his uncle.  
  
Thea watched for a bit, then jumped up and joined the game. The five of them had a fine time playing, but Joe accused Adam of cheating by swinging himself up into trees to avoid being tagged by Joe. The adults thoroughly enjoyed a rare opportunity to be carefree.  
  
They had all just collapsed on the blanket when Pa and Hoss came out to join them.  
  
The two men stood there looking down at the prone figures. "Looks like they been run ragged." Hoss said smiling, and Ben laughed.  
  
Adam sat up abruptly, "What time is it?"  
  
Ben pulled his pocket watch out, "It is twelve fifteen," and his eldest son got to his feet.  
  
Thea held her hand out to her husband who helped her up. "We better get moving or we'll be late to the funeral," she said. "And I still need to find someone on the staff to watch the children this afternoon."  
  
Hoss spoke up, "We'll watch 'em for you."  
  
Thea smiled, "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yep," Hoss said as Joe and Ben exchanged a look.  
  
Adam leaned down to whisper in his wife's ear, "Just back away quietly and don't make any sudden moves. They might regain their sanity and change their minds," he cautioned her, so she quickly said, "Thank you," and the two of them hurried off toward the house hand-in-hand.  
  
The three men stood there looking down at the two small children. "Oh boy," Joe said, "I have a bad feeling about this."  
  
"Come on Joe, you aren't tellin' me the three of us can't handle two little ones, are you?"  
  
Alexander and Annalise exchanged a look then smiled angelically up at their new family members.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Nearly every employee who was free came to the funeral and Adam and Thea spent most of their time greeting those arriving. A few people were still filing in when they had to rush off to take their places with the choir. Adam stood in between Wes and Charlie while Thea was next to Marie.  
  
The five of them were unobtrusively watching one man in particular; they couldn't believe he had come to the service. He sat in the middle of the first row and nothing about him seemed remarkable enough for all this attention. Until you looked at his eyes - they were cold and full of pride, arrogance, and self-importance.  
  
Thea had been watching the man so intently out of the corner of her eye while the minister spoke that Marie had to poke her in the ribs to wake her up. The choir had started to sing,  
  
"I'm giving it all to You, Lord  
For You I will always wait,  
I'm giving it all to You, Lord  
Until I pass through Heaven's gate."  
  
As the last notes faded away, Adam stepped down and came to the pulpit to read scripture. He startled everyone by his choice of verse and by not saying a word in introduction.  
  
"Awake, my God; decree justice.  
O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts,  
bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous  
secure.  
He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.  
The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on  
his own head.  
I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will  
sing  
praise to the name of the Lord Most High."  
  
He turned away then and went back to the choir as they began to sing again.  
  
Lord, there is no  
Pain so sharp You can not ease  
  
Arms so empty You can not fill  
  
Place so dark You can not go  
Voice so faint You can not hear  
  
The choir filed out and once they were out of sight, Adam took off his choir robe and went back in to be a pallbearer. Ten men, five on each side, stood by the casket and at a signal from Adam they lifted it onto their shoulders and began to walk out of the church and to the gravesite.  
  
The graveside service was very brief and when it was over Thea came up to Adam and put her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. He looked down at her as he pulled her close, so neither of them saw Marie stop and stand next to a tall man with iron-gray hair who had been sitting next to the man they had been watching so closely.  
  
"Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock, at the arena," Marie said quietly to him then limped away.  
  
Adam and Thea climbed into their coach and headed home. The rest of the mourners were on their way to the hotel where Adam had reserved the hall and arranged to have the restaurant cater an old fashioned "wake."  
  
When the two came in the front door they heard a man shout from the back of the house and the sound of a child crying. They stared at each other for a second then ran through the house and burst out the back door.  
  
Joe and Hoss were each holding one of Ben's arms and Annalise was wailing with her brother's arms around her.  
  
"What happened?" Adam said coming to a halt in front of his father, while Thea went to the children. His father just grimaced in pain.  
  
"Now don't get all excited Adam, it was just a little accident," Hoss said as he and Joe started helping Ben walk toward the house again. Adam looked at Thea as they passed him and saw her eyes go wide. He turned to look and saw a child-sized arrow protruding from his father's backside. He put a hand over his eyes; dear God, they had only been gone for two hours!  
  
His father and brothers stopped when Thea rushed past Adam and stepped right in front of them. She spoke with the voice of authority. "Stop, don't you walk anymore," she said shaking a finger in Ben's face, then turned to Hoss. "Hoss, you pick him up and take him up to his room right now!"  
  
Ben looked at her with his eyes snapping and a scowl. "I prefer to walk."  
  
Putting her hands on her hips she said, "I don't care what you prefer, you could do a lot more damage to yourself by walking with that arrow in you." She turned to Hoss again, "Do what you're told Hoss, take him upstairs now!"  
  
"Sorry Pa, she's right," Hoss said, picked his father up and carried him into the house. Thea followed closely behind.  
  
As soon as Ben was out of sight Annalise ran to her father and he scooped her up; Alexander followed slowly. As Adam held his daughter close and patted her on the back his eyes went to Joe.  
  
"Care to tell me how did my children get their hands on a bow and arrows?" he asked in a reasonable tone.  
  
"Well now, that was Hoss's idea. He bought them yesterday and was going to ask you about it first, but forgot. And this seemed like a perfect opportunity to teach the kids how to use them so..."  
  
"And...?"  
  
"And what?"  
  
"And how did our father end up with an arrow in his...well...in him?"  
  
Joe's eyes involuntarily went to Annalise, still sobbing in her father's arms.  
  
Adam blinked, "Annalise did this?"  
  
His younger brother nodded reluctantly and the little girl leaned back in her father's arms, her face shiny with tears, "Is Grandpa gonna die?" she hiccupped. Adam put his hand on the back of her head and pressed his forehead to hers, "No honey, Grandpa is not going to die. You're mother will fix him up just like new."  
  
The little girl looked in her father's eyes for a moment then seemed to accept that he was telling the truth. She wearily snuggled up to her father, her head pressed up against his neck.  
  
Adam felt a tugging at his pant leg and looked down at Alexander. "This time it wasn't me Pa," the little boy said. His father smiled. "Yes, this time it wasn't you," as he reached down and put his free hand on his son's head. He smoothed Alexander's hair then bent down to pick him up too.  
  
"I'm really sorry, Adam," Joe said, looking at his older brother cautiously.  
  
"Pa is the one who will be expecting apologies, not me." They started toward the house. "Do you think you can watch these two in my office for a bit while I go up to help?"  
  
"You don't have any weapons in there, do you?"  
  
"Yes, but even you wouldn't be able to get at them."  
  
"I think I can manage for a while. You'd better go up, I'm sure Thea will be needing your help."  
  
"I'm not worried about Thea," Adam said when they reached the back door, "Pa is the one I'm thinking of."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
After leaving the children with Joe in the office Adam quickly climbed the stairs, but had to flatten himself up against the wall when people came running with the things Thea no doubt had asked for. As soon as the hall was clear he continued on to his father's room, opened the door and went in.  
  
Hoss turned toward him and his older brother nodded his head at the door. The big man left quickly, relieved.  
  
Ben was lying facedown on the bed and Thea was busily arranging things so she didn't notice her husband come in or Hoss leave at first. He went to the head of the bed and looked down at his father. "Are you alright so far?'  
  
He turned his head to give Adam a desperate look, "Can't you stop her?"  
  
Knowing what his father was upset about he chuckled and shook his head. "Nope. She's right, it's best to get that arrow out of you as quickly as possible."  
  
Thea went to her doctor's bag and pulled out a large, sharp knife.  
  
"But she's going to be putting her hands on..." he started to say then realized Thea was slitting his pant leg up the back.  
  
"Hey!" he started to protest and get up. Adam put a hand on his father's shoulder to push him back down. "Pa, she's a doctor; she's seen it all before."  
  
Thea patted the prone man on the leg as she started to cut the cloth away around the arrow, "Don't worry Ben, if I see anything I haven't seen before I'll shoot it."  
  
Her father-in-law just groaned in embarrassment and buried his head in the pillow.  
  
At a nod from his wife, Adam came over and picked up the chloroform mask. He opened the bottle, expertly applied a small amount of the liquid to the center then went back to the head of the bed.  
  
His father turned toward him and Adam put a hand to the back of his head and gently placed the mask over his mouth and nose.  
  
"Just take a deep breath Pa, don't fight it.'  
  
In a few seconds the prone man went limp and Thea went into action while Adam checked his father's pulse.  
  
She picked up her scalpel and with quick, short strokes cut an "X" shape with the arrow in the center. After pulling it out, she reached for a jar of clear liquid, a mixture of hot water and carbolic acid. She dribbled the mixture into the wound and swabbed it out until she was satisfied it was clean. Then she reached for an already threaded, curved needle. After sewing a few stitches in each layer, she was done, so she began to clean and bandage the wound.  
  
Ben was still out when she turned to Adam and smiled. "All done," she said and laughed. "Now I see something else you and your father have in common. Except yours doesn't have an 'X' on it."  
  
He slanted a sideways look at her, "If you are finished ogling my father's backside you can wait out in the hall while I get him settled."  
  
She left the room laughing and he shook his head.  
  
A few minutes later Adam opened the door and Thea came back in to look at her patient. She checked his pulse and pulled his eyelids back. "Everything is normal, he should be coming out of it soon, so I'll just clean this mess up then sit next to the bed and wait," she said and began to gather her things up.  
  
Adam said, "I'll be right back, I want to check on the twins and arrange for a tray to be brought up here later."  
  
Thea just nodded as he left.  
  
When she finished straightening up the room, she curled up in the wingchair by the head of the bed. She sat there quietly, taking the opportunity to study her father-in-law's sleeping face.  
  
He soon opened his eyes and she smiled down at him with affection, "How do you feel?"  
  
After blinking a few times and clearing his throat he said, "Fine," as though he was surprised.  
  
"I just want you to stay in bed for the rest of today and tomorrow you can do what you want. Just be careful you don't pop any of the stitches."  
  
He refused to meet her eyes, so she leaned down and whispered, "It's ok Pa, I kept my eyes closed."  
  
Ben looked up at her quickly; she grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him.  
  
That won a small smile from him, which turned into a much wider smile as he started to laugh. "I guess that was rather foolish of me to be bothered by you...seeing part of me unclothed. I'm sure once you've seen one, you've seen them all."  
  
Thea shook her head, "No, not really, darlin'" she said and gave him a wink. He turned red and laughed.  
  
Adam walked in as his father said, "Don't make me laugh anymore, that's starting to hurt."  
  
She immediately became serious, "Do you need anything for pain?"  
  
"No, I'll be fine," he assured her so she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I will go and get my children ready for dinner." She ran her hand down Adam's arm and then gave him a sharp thwak on his backside as she left the room.  
  
"Hey!" her husband protested as she hurried away giggling.  
  
When he turned to his father he was relieved to see him smiling. "That woman is getting to be entirely too cheeky...and I can't believe I just said that."  
  
His father shook his head still smiling then his expression became serious. "Adam, I've been thinking about you two and I've realized something - Thea is just right for you. All the women you had in your life before would have bored you to tears within the first year of marriage."  
  
"I know," Adam said and sat down in the chair by the bed. "Of course, I only know that since I recovered most of my memories last night."  
  
"You did!"  
  
"Yes I did and I have some questions for you," he leaned forward, "so tell me Pa, what's this about Hoss and Leprechauns?" 


	7. L & F PT 1 CH 7 ROUNDUP

LOST AND FOUND - PART I  
  
ROUNDUP  
  
Chapter 7  
  
When Ben, Joe, and Hoss came down for breakfast the next morning, Adam was ready to leave for the day, dressed in another immaculate, expensive suit, this one dark blue. He stayed for a few minutes to say good morning and to ask his father how he was feeling. Ben shifted in his chair and just gave his son a look.  
  
Adam laughed and told them he would be in meetings away from the office most of the day, but would see them around four o'clock. Then he left.  
  
The three men took their time over breakfast and discussed their plans for the day. They would be leaving in a few minutes to attend a cattle auction, one of the reasons they had come to San Francisco to begin with.  
  
They were at the front door when Thea came bustling into the hall. She rushed up to them and kissed each one on the cheek saying, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there this morning, we're still cleaning up from the party." Opening the front door for them she said, "and when may I look forward to seeing you gentlemen again today?"  
  
"Probably about the same time you'll see Adam again today," her father-in- law said as he and his sons went out the door.  
  
"I'll be there, I mean here," Thea said distractedly as she followed them outside and watched them go down the front steps. When they looked back, she waved and kept watching until they were out of sight.  
  
She went slowly back inside, shut the door, then picked up her skirts and bounded up the stairs two at a time. In a few minutes she hurried back down, dressed in male clothing with her hair tucked up under a hat. She picked up her bag and slipped outside, shutting the door quietly behind her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The three Cartwright men arrived early, but the auction yard was already packed with people. Ben took the lead and Hoss brought up the rear with Joe in the middle as they worked their way through the crowd. Hoss stopped for a second when he thought he heard someone calling his name.  
  
He looked around then spotted Marie, Adam's secretary, beckoning to him from a door near the entrance. He turned back the way he had been going, hoping to see Ben and Joe still within hailing distance, but saw no sign of them. Shrugging his huge shoulders he hurried up to Marie.  
  
"Hoss," she said and stepped through the open door, "Adam sent me to get you; he needs your help."  
  
"What happened?" Hoss said as he came through the door.  
  
Marie turned around and gave him a strange look as the door closed behind him. Four men who had been lined up behind the door threw themselves on Hoss and wrestled him to the floor. Before he could even start to fight back an acrid-sweet smelling cloth was slapped over his mouth and nose. In a moment he was unconscious.  
  
The four kidnappers began tying up the limp man and Marie slipped back into the arena.  
  
She didn't have to go far to spot Joe, it was obvious he was looking for Hoss.  
  
"Joe," she called and waved at him. The young man immediately hurried over.  
  
Before he had a chance to ask any questions she turned and led him to the room where Hoss lay. She opened the door and he went in. This time she stayed outside and listened to the thuds and grunts as Joe was subdued. Marie just continued to wait by the door; she knew Ben would be showing up soon.  
  
Sure enough, about ten minutes later she saw him coming in her direction. She waited until he spotted her, waved to him, and went through the door, leaving it open halfway. He followed her in.  
  
A few minutes later she came back out accompanied by the tall man with iron gray hair. They went out of the arena and up to a boxed-in wagon waiting next to the outer door to the room where the three Cartwright men were lying unconscious.  
  
The man opened the back door to the wagon and the outside door to the room opened. All four men carried out something very large wrapped in a tarp. Marie cautioned them to be careful. The four men nodded and finally managed to get the bundle into the wagon. They had less trouble with the other two. Marie waited until the wagon pulled away before heading home.  
  
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Three hours later Adam returned from a meeting. He had just taken his seat behind the desk when a knock came at the door. "Come in," he called.  
  
The door opened and Wes appeared in the doorway looking somber, "Adam, this note just came for you," he said as he walked forward and handed it over.  
  
His employer unfolded the paper quickly; it read:  
  
Go home NOW!!!!  
  
Adam handed the note to Wes saying, "Send the police to my house!" and he bolted from his office, running for the end of the hallway where the secret entrance was, praying he wouldn't be too late.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The stranger carefully opened the door that led from the basement to the first floor and looked around. He didn't see a soul, so he carefully consulted the map of the house he was carrying. He knew the boy would be in his room because he was confined to the house as a punishment for running away, so he traced the route with a bloodstained finger three times before he started to move again.  
  
He quietly climbed the back stairs to the second floor, not encountering anyone. His heart was pounding in his chest, knowing what would happen to him if he were caught. He counted the doors as he went down the hall and stopped in front of the fifth one.  
  
Glancing around he put a hand on the doorknob, silently turned it then pushed on the door. It slowly opened a crack without a sound and he poked his head into the room. The boy was sitting at a child-size desk drawing. He never heard the man come in and didn't see him until a big hand covered his mouth and he was plucked from the chair.  
  
The man stopped for a moment as he headed out of the bedroom to shift his hold on the child when he heard a low growl behind him. He turned around and saw a shaggy, black head with yellow eyes rise over the boy's bed; he took a step back. The head seemed to float down to the end of the bed and as the hound turned toward him the thug nearly shrieked in fright. The dog's head had been just large - the rest of him wasn't.  
  
The animal's massive, black body rippled with muscle as he slowly began to stalk the stranger while he backed away. He went through the doorway, down the hall, and then down the front stairs carefully, not wanting to make any move that might make the animal attack.  
  
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the dog padded toward the door and stood in between it and the man holding the boy. Then when the kidnapper tried to go through one of the archways, the hound cut him off there too.  
  
Eventually he was pressed up against the right-hand wall of the hall. Sitting in front of them, the animal continued to growl, his lips rippling over long, white fangs. The thug pulled his knife out, just in case, and shivered when the dog looked at him with contempt.  
  
The animal did not attack, he just would not let the stranger leave with the boy. Any movement on the man's part caused the dog to snap at him, but when he stood still the hound just sat there watching them and growling. He didn't even move a muscle when his master crashed through the front door.  
  
Adam skidded to a halt then stood in the raised entranceway for a moment to catch his breath and assess the situation. To his mind he was holding all the cards. He walked across the hall to stand behind the dog opposite the man holding his son. "Balor, down," he told the dog who lay down. He then pinned the man who was up against the wall with an icy stare. "Put the knife down, let my son go, and I promise I will not kill you," he said through clenched teeth.  
  
The thug was distracted then by Alexander when the boy began squirm in his arms. "BE STILL!" his father ordered and the child did as he was told.  
  
Adam then slowly repeated himself, "Put the knife down . . . let my son go . . . and I promise I will not kill you."  
  
The desperate man put the knife to Alex's throat. The boy's eyes were huge in his small face and he began to cry. Adam steeled himself, he couldn't let anything distract him from getting Alexander back unharmed. "If you so much as prick his skin I will make you wish you had never been born, right before you die."  
  
The kidnapper looked the other man in the eye and what he saw there must have made the decision for him. He slowly moved the knife away from the child's throat and dropped it to the floor.  
  
"Now kick it over here," Adam ordered, and the man did. Adam picked the knife up, looked at it then snapped the blade off the handle. The kidnapper's eyes went wide and Adam said, "That's what I will do to your neck if you don't let him go this second."  
  
Trying to keep his eyes on Adam as well as the dog, the man slowly bent over and carefully put Alexander down on his feet. As soon as he let go the child ran for his father, wrapped his arms around his leg and began to sob with his face buried in his thigh.  
  
Adam picked Alexander up, and then kicked the pieces of the knife out of the way. "It's alright son, you're safe now."  
  
Holding the sobbing child as close as possible he let the full extent of his fury show on his face. "You have no idea how close I am to telling Balor to attack."  
  
"But you said I wouldn't be killed!"  
  
"No, I said I wouldn't kill you. I didn't say anything about HIM." He looked down at the dog. "Balor", he said and saw the thug's face turn completely white. "Guard," he said, looking at the man with contempt as the hound sat up and began growling again.  
  
When Adam turned around, Thea holding Annalise, ran through the front door with Charlie right behind her. Her eyes immediately went to Alexander in Adam's arms and she put a hand to her mouth to cover a sob. He walked up to her and put his free arm around her and his daughter, while she put her free arm around his waist. The two of them stood there in the hall, holding on to each other as tightly as they could. Adam raised his head when he heard men coming up the front steps. He bent and kissed each one; wife, daughter, and son then told Thea to take the children into his office.  
  
As she left, Adam glanced at the kidnapper and saw that Charlie had decided to guard him too, and he almost smiled at the picture of the large dog and huge man, both growling and staring intently, but his own rage had not cooled at all.  
  
He called, "Balor, come." The dog immediately stood and came up to him. He said, "heel," and went to the office door, the dog close by his side. Adam opened the door and told Balor to go to Thea. The huge dog bounded into the room and jumped up on the sofa. All three threw their arms around him as Adam shut the door and went back to the hall.  
  
The first policeman through the front door went right to Adam and held out his hand. "I see you've been having a bit of trouble today, Mr. Eden, I mean Cartwright," he said as they shook hands.  
  
"Yes, as you can see Lieutenant Tolson."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, all I can tell you is I came in and found this man trying to kidnap my son. Then he held a knife to Alexander's throat." Adam was still having a little trouble tamping down his anger. "Balor had him pinned right where he stands now." He refused to look again, knowing if he did he might do something violent.  
  
As if he knew what Adam was thinking the policeman said, "Why don't we get this piece of human trash out of here and down to the station? Then we can get a statement from everybody and take it from there."  
  
Adam nodded, "I just don't know how he got in, I've had guards around the house twenty-four hours a day."  
  
"You have?" the policeman said then turned looking for the nearest underling. "Brennerman," he called and a young, freckle-faced man came running. "Search the house and grounds and instruct anyone guarding the house to come here."  
  
The young man just nodded, then hurried off to organize the search.  
  
"My wife and children are in my office. Why don't we go in there and you can take our statements."  
  
"Just what I was going to suggest myself," the Lieutenant said then Charlie interrupted them. "Adam? I think you need to take a look at your missus - someone tried almost the same thing with her and Annalise at the gardens today."  
  
"Damn it!" Adam ran for the office. Lieutenant Tolson followed walking.  
  
Thea looked up startled as her husband burst through the door. He went directly to her then went down on one knee in front of the sofa. When he looked at her face he could see her bottom lip was split and what would turn out to be a huge bruise beginning to darken one side of her face.  
  
"What happened?" he said and turned to look at Annalise. The little girl's lips began to tremble as she held her arms out to her father. Adam sat down on the floor and pulled her into his lap. She clutched at him and began to shudder. He held his daughter with a fierce grip, and then looked up at Thea, but her eyes had gone to the door as Tolson came in.  
  
He sat down in a chair opposite the family, "Please, go ahead Mrs. Cartwright."  
  
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Thea and Annalise had come to their favorite part of the gardens, the section reserved for roses. They were walking along, hand-in-hand and thoroughly enjoying themselves when a man stepped up beside them, grabbed the child and tried to take her from her mother. Thea refused to let go so the man smashed his elbow into her mouth, knocking her down then ran away clutching the squirming child. Thea pawed at her skirt, finally reached the knife in the sheath inside her boot, got to her feet and raced after them.  
  
She stopped at an intersection in the path and looked frantically around, not knowing which way to go. Then her sharp ears heard a faint cry and she turned to her right and ran, following the sound she knew was her daughter. When she rounded the next bend she saw the man holding her child looking for some way out of the cul-de-sac in the boxwood hedges that were as dense and thick as a wall.  
  
He turned, saw her, and put a hand on Annalise's chin. "Come any closer and I'll snap her neck," he warned. Thea stood there, eyes wide and shining with hatred.  
  
"I mean it lady! Back up.'  
  
Thea stared at him for a few seconds more then hung her head, shoulders sagging with defeat. She began to turn away and saw the man relax out of the corner of her eye. She turned back and threw the knife so quickly he didn't even see it coming; the knife sang through the air and buried itself to the hilt in his left shoulder. His arm instantly went numb and he dropped the child. The little girl landed on her feet and ran to her mother who snatched her up and ran away as fast as she could.  
  
Thea did not stop until they were on the sidewalk next to the street and she looked around for a policeman, but couldn't see any. Then she remembered the club was only two blocks away. "Charlie," she said under her breath and quickly walked the two blocks, clutching her daughter.  
  
She looked through the glass in the front door but couldn't see anyone inside, so she began to pound on the door and call for Charlie. He came running and threw the door open. "Mrs. Cartwright, what's wrong?" he asked as she stepped right up and leaned into him.  
  
He awkwardly put an arm around the two and pushed the door shut. Both the mother and child were shaking violently as he guided her to the nearest chair. He had to push on her shoulder to get her to sit down then he bent over in front of her. "What happened?"  
  
She tightened her arms around her child and tried to pull herself together. "Charlie, someone tried to take Annalise away from me in the gardens," she said then a horrifying thought occurred to her. "Oh my God, if they sent someone after Annalise, they'll be sending someone after Alexander too! I've got to get home right now." She started to stand up.  
  
"Hold on Thea, I'll get you home as fast as I can, but first I'm sendin' someone to the station to get the police out to your house."  
  
She nodded, still shaking.  
  
He went to a door at the back of the room, opened it, and spoke to someone. He was back in a moment and said, "Let's go!"  
  
Standing on the sidewalk out front, Thea couldn't see any empty cabs; they were all occupied. Charlie walked out into the road and stepped in front of one holding his hands up. When the cab stopped he went to the door, opened it, reached in and pulled the passenger out. The smaller man was sputtering with indignation until Charlie gave him a dark look and simply said, "Emergency."  
  
The little man stopped complaining and backed away as the huge man picked up Thea, who was still holding her child, and handed them into the cab. After shutting the door, he climbed up to the seat, pushed the driver to the side and took the lines into his own hands. He slapped the reins on the horses' backs and bellowed, "Hyah!" The horses took off at top speed.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
While telling the story, Thea had reached out for her son and now had him in her lap, holding him as close as she could; he had fallen asleep. Annalise was still in her father's lap as he sat on the floor, but she had stopped shaking and her eyes were closing too. The children were recovering more quickly than the adults.  
  
Brennerman came into the room then and said something low to Tolson. The Lieutenant's face went grim. "Could we see you out in the hall for a moment, Mr. Cartwright?"  
  
Adam stood then handed his daughter to her mother. Somehow Thea managed to get both children into her lap. Balor lay watching them intently from the other end of the sofa.  
  
After they stepped out into the hall the Lieutenant led the way out to the gardens and into the gazebo. A man lay on the floor in a huge pool of blood. Adam stood as close to the body as he could, staring at the face. He turned his head to look at the Lieutenant, "This is one of my guards, Brian Kestler," he said sickened. The young man's throat had been slashed.  
  
"We thought as much," the Lieutenant replied.  
  
"He was supposed to be watching my son."  
  
"I see," Tolson said and was silent for a moment, deep in thought, then shook his head, "Well, I believe that is all we will need you for; I've got both your statements and I don't believe we will ever need to ask anything of the children since you and your wife can identify the assailants."  
  
Adam nodded, looked at Brian one more time then turned and left the gazebo, already having made up his mind to have it destroyed.  
  
When he returned to the office not only were his children asleep, their mother was also. He sat down in the chair opposite them and just watched them sleep for a while, knowing how close he had come to losing all of them. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Balor jumped down off the sofa and came to sit next to his master. Adam absently stroked the dog's shaggy head. White-hot rage burned in his intense stare and when he looked up at Wes who came to stand over him, the larger man took a step back.  
  
"We have to stick with this afternoon, this can't go on any longer," Adam said. Wes nodded. "We're ready, what time have you decided on?"  
  
"Four o'clock," Adam answered, "After you deliver the message, I want you back here to guard my children. You're the only one I can trust to do it right."  
  
"Yes sir, with my life," Wes headed for the door.  
  
"Thank you," Adam said and the guard just smiled as he left his employer watching over his sleeping family. 


	8. L & F PT 1 CH 8 SHOWDOWN

LOST AND FOUND - PART I  
  
SHOWDOWN  
  
Chapter 8  
  
The four men who had knocked them out and kidnapped them were standing, two on either side, of the man who had ordered Bob's murder, the man who had sat in the middle of the first row at the funeral. Hoss was still unconscious and Ben was just starting to come out of it. Joe, however, was wide-awake. His eyes kept scanning the almost empty warehouse, looking for any opportunity, anything he could use to his advantage as he struggled against the ropes. Ben had just opened his eyes when they all heard footsteps coming up the wooden stairs and someone whistling. The footsteps weren't particularly hurried or heavy, they sounded calm and purposeful. Joe and Ben recognized both the whistle and the song - there was no doubt that Adam was coming.  
  
The door opened and Adam walked in. He kept walking to the center of the room without breaking stride or glancing at his family. He was heading for a chair that had been placed precisely in the center of the room facing the five standing men. Hoss still slept, but Ben was now sitting up.  
  
Adam sat down, stretched his legs out in front of him, pulled out a narrow cigar and then lit it with a match. He crossed his arms and lounged back in the chair, his narrowed eyes looking intently at the man directly in front of him, still flanked by the four hired guns.  
  
"So Jackson," he said with a dangerous smile, "as you can see I received your invitation."  
  
Jackson showed his annoyance, "Who told you that you could light up a cigar?"  
  
"Oh, pardon me for being rude," Adam said mockingly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigar, "care for one?"  
  
"No," Jackson's eyes went to the door; Adam put the cigar back in his breast pocket.  
  
"If you're looking for that goon you sent after me, I can assure he won't be showing up," Adam said. He lifted the cigar to his mouth again and Joe noticed some blood dripping down his hand; the knuckles were a raw, bloody mess.  
  
Jackson's eyes returned to the man sitting in front of him and his mouth opened, but Adam interrupted him.  
  
"I just have one question for you Jackson. . . were you born this stupid or is it something you have to actually work at?" he said in a serious tone.  
  
The other man's mouth dropped open, "You must not understand the situation here with an arrogant attitude like that."  
  
Adam raised his eyes toward the ceiling. "No. Wrong again. You're the one who doesn't understand." He pinched the cigar out with his fingers, and then said, "Gentlemen, would you please enlighten Mr. Jackson?"  
  
The four henchmen immediately turned their guns on the man in the middle and four hammers clicked back. The two closest to Jackson each grabbed one of his arms when he tried to reach for his weapon, a third took the gun off of him, and the fourth pulled a wooden chair away from the wall and shoved it under the man as he was forcefully pushed down into it.  
  
Adam still lounged back in his chair, but was now shaking his head. "You idiot, did you really think I was just going to sit back and let you do this? You don't understand who you're dealing with. I've had people inside your organization for the past year. And as for these four, didn't you stop to think for one minute about why four well-qualified criminals just showed up on your doorstep looking for employment?"  
  
Jackson did not respond, he just sat there with his mouth still hanging open.  
  
"I was betting your gigantic pride would get in the way of seeing anything clearly, and I was right. You had no idea, did you?" The other man shook his head, bewildered.  
  
"I didn't think so," Adam continued, and turned his head to look at his family for the first time. He gave a sideways nod in their direction saying, "Nate, would you mind untying my family please?"  
  
The tallest hired gun, blond and blue-eyed said, "Sure, should have thought of that myself," as he hurried over and pulled a knife out to cut the ropes instead of untying them. In a few minutes Ben, Hoss, and Joe were free, but Hoss was still sleeping peacefully. Adam addressed the two that were awake. "Pa, Joe, these four men are very good friends of mine, Pinkerton's best," he smiled, "why don't you fellows introduce yourselves?"  
  
The most muscular one identified himself as Mike and the average-looking one in the bunch said his name was John. The last was a tall, older man with iron gray hair and cool gray eyes; his name was Jerry. They already knew the fourth man's name.  
  
Jackson finally spoke, "So what now?" he said keeping his eyes on the floor.  
  
"Well, the original plan was to just take you in, but that changed when you made that one fatal error in dealing with me."  
  
"Fatal error?"  
  
Still looking intently at Jackson Adam said, "Tell him what my one rule is, boys."  
  
All four hired guns spoke together, "Business is business, but never touch my family," and they all grinned.  
  
"Right."  
  
"But I didn't kidnap them," Jackson nodded at the men up against the sidewall. "Your friends brought them in."  
  
"I know," Adam said, "I asked them to, it was the only way I could think of to keep them safe. I couldn't be sure you wouldn't send someone besides these four after them." He stood, walked slowly up to Jackson and leaned down to look him right in the eye.  
  
"You tried to take my children, you son-of-a-bitch," he ground out as his arm shot forward and he seized the other man by the throat. He lifted until Jackson's toes almost left the ground. He let him hang there, struggling for breath for a few moments then abruptly let go when Nate said, "Adam," in a warning tone.  
  
The other man fell back onto the wooden chair. Adam turned and paced a few feet away, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders as Jackson bent over retching and trying to breathe.  
  
"No one, NO ONE, ever touches my children," Adam shouted as he turned back to Jackson. "You are the worst kind of coward - trying to get at me through my people. If you have a problem with me, you come to ME. If you hate my guts, tell me to my face. You want to hurt me, come take a shot at ME, not my family." He moved a little closer, "We are going to settle this grudge you have against me right now - I'm going to give you the chance to have a free shot," he put his hands on his hips and stuck out his chin. "Come on, show me what you've got, you piss poor excuse for a man."  
  
Jackson didn't move.  
  
"Come on," Adam said in a soft tone as he moved forward again until he was almost right on top of the seated man, "you can't pass up this chance. You'll never be offered it again, and I swear to you my family and friends will not interfere, they understand that this is personal."  
  
Jackson still didn't move.  
  
Adam leaned over him, "JUST DO IT, JACKASS!" he shouted in the other man's face, and stood his ground when Jackson popped up out of his chair and put everything he had into an uppercut.  
  
Everyone else in the room flinched at the sound, but then looked on in shock to see that Adam had not been moved at all. Even a couple of his friends shuddered when they saw the way he smiled into Jackson's eyes.  
  
"I do believe you are in deep trouble now," Adam said with a smile, "my wife hits harder than that."  
  
The other man tried to back up, but the chair was in the way, and when Adam's fist connected with his chin he fell into it, over it, and went rolling across the floor to stop in front of Nate.  
  
As the tall man knelt down to look at Jackson, Adam asked, "Is he down for the count?"  
  
Nate nodded, "Yep, I think you broke his jaw."  
  
"Damn," Adam complained, "I was looking forward to beating the crap out of him." He shook his head, "Theadora!" he shouted and she came hurrying in followed by a short, red-haired man.  
  
She came up to her husband and said, "You bellowed?" He nodded toward Nate, kneeling at the unconscious man's side. "Oh dear Lord," she sighed as she moved forward to kneel on the other side of the unconscious man.  
  
"Nate, help me turn him over or he's going to drown in his own blood." As they were turning him she said, "I am not going to be the one to set THIS jaw. I'd be too tempted to set it badly so he'd talk funny for the rest of his life."  
  
When she stood up and looked at Adam he said, "I swear to you I pulled the punch. I just don't understand why there seems to be a connection between a swelled head and a glass jaw."  
  
As she just looked at him skeptically he laughed and tried to distract her. "Isn't Hoss awake yet?" As usual, it worked.  
  
She turned toward the family group, saw Hoss on the floor still sleeping peacefully, and rushed over to examine him. Adam caught his father's eye, winked, and the two men grinned at each other over Adam's tactics.  
  
After looking Hoss over, Thea sat back on her heels. "He's fine, I can't see why he hasn't woken up yet. Maybe he just doesn't want to," she stood, "but I think it would be a good idea to get him home as soon as possible."  
  
"I agree," Adam turned to the red-haired man. "Bob, would you please drive my family home? I have to stay for a while."  
  
"Sure, Mr. Eden...I mean Cartwright."  
  
"Bob isn't dead?" Joe said, confused.  
  
"Of course he isn't dead, Nate talked Jackson into letting him do the killing." Adam looked at Nate, "Personally, I think we did an excellent job faking the murder and the funeral."  
  
"Ah, a well thought out plan is a thing of beauty!" Nate said and he laughed with the other three detectives, as Adam looked disgusted. He turned to Joe and his father, "They're having a good time making fun of me. I only said that once, but they refuse to let me forget it." He came over to where Hoss was still lying on the floor and signaled the detectives over to help. "Just give me a hand lifting him."  
  
They draped Hoss over Adam's shoulders and he stood, walked up to the door, opened it, and went down the steps.  
  
Ben looked at Joe and they stared at each other in disbelief. Thea laughed, "You keep forgetting Adam is a man in his prime right now, he's the strongest he's ever been."  
  
The detectives were standing around Jackson as Thea, Ben, Joe, and Bob left. When the four of them reached the bottom of the steps Adam had already put Hoss in the wagon and he lifted Thea into the back, too. She immediately went to Hoss and sat down, putting his head in her lap. She looked up at her husband, "I don't want his head to get banged around during the drive home." She looked down at the sleeping man, pulled up an eyelid and bent down to look. "I think he just might be starting to come out of it."  
  
"Good," her husband said as he looked over the side of the wagon. "If he's not awake by the time you get him home, just wave a steak under his nose. That'll wake him up."  
  
Joe and Ben laughed a little as they climbed up on the seat next to Bob. They were still a little shaky.  
  
"How long do you think you'll be?" Thea asked.  
  
"Probably only a couple of hours. Jackson is the last one to be taken in, we've already gotten the rest." He started back up the steps as the wagon began to move. "See you at home when I'm finished."  
  
"Tell the boys they have to come home with you," she called and he waved in acknowledgement from the top of the stairs as he opened the door and went in. 


	9. L & F PT 1 CH 9 CONFRONTED

LOST AND FOUND - PART I

CONFRONTED

Chapter 9

When Adam returned to the house, he had the four Pinkerton detectives with him as ordered. He led them into the house and to his office, where the rest of the family, except the children, was gathered.

Thea jumped up and ran to Adam, throwing her arms around him. He staggered back a bit, but then hugged her tight. "I told you not to worry, the roundup went without a hitch. Didn't it boys?" he said to the four Pinks.

"You better believe it." Jerry said.

"Damn straight," Mike said then flushed a bit as he glanced at Thea who only smiled at him, then winced at the pain in her jaw. She let go of her husband and went to answer the knock at the back door to the office.

John just laughed and Nate came to slap Adam on the back as a server entered the room with a cart holding champagne and glasses.

"Thank you Seth," Thea said, "that will be all." The young man gave her a shy smile and left the room.

Adam opened the champagne and poured while Thea distributed the glasses.

After everyone was served Adam raised his glass to make a toast to his four friends, "Here is to the best team of detectives to ever walk the earth, and thank the Lord you are all on the side of the law!" The four detectives laughed and drank the toast to themselves as Adam came to shake the hand of each one.

Then Nate raised his glass, "And here is to the most stubborn, brilliant, devious, royal pain of a Federal Marshall to ever wear the badge."

Thea and the Pinks had to laugh when they saw the astonished look Joe and Hoss exchanged.

"YOU?" Joe sputtered.

"Yes Joseph. Would seeing my badge convince you?"

Wide-eyes, Joe nodded.

Adam pulled a leather wallet out of an inside pocket of his suit coat and tossed it to Joe. As his brother opened it, Thea glanced at her husband and caught him giving his father a strange, dark look. But when he turned back the look was gone. She frowned slightly, puzzled.

Hoss came up to Joe to look at the badge and he whistled. "That thing is solid gold, ain't it, Adam?"

"Yes it is Hoss."

"Why didn't you tell us any of this?" Joe said, bewildered.

"Because if I had, and you had told anyone, I would have had to throw you in jail for obstruction of justice," his older brother said as everyone took a seat. "And we all know how good you are at keeping secrets." Joe frowned, but didn't comment.

"Anyway," Adam continued looking at Joe, "did you know the Marshals office was created in 1789?"

Joe shook his head.

"The duties of a Marshall haven't really changed all that much since then, but there is a little known division that handles special assignments on a national scale. That is what I do."

"In his 'spare' time," Thea laughed and Adam grinned at her. "I guess I should be more accurate and say that is what I used to do. I'm mainly retired from the division now. I only get involved when I'm needed."

"Two years we've been working to bring that monster down and now it's finished," Jerry said.

Adam nodded, "Jackson's people weren't particularly bright, but they more than made up for that with viciousness."

"Two years?" Hoss asked, "Why'd it take so long?"

Adam smiled at Hoss as he answered, "We wanted to round up everyone involved, not just Jackson's people. There were more than a few corrupt officials, both high and low, who were brought in today and we had to take our time to gather the evidence...to make our case."

Adam then turned to Joe again, "And you have no idea how much you put everything in danger by finding me. You could not have had worse timing."

"Dear God, did we have to scramble and bang our heads on the wall to think up new angles," John laughed.

Nate smiled, "We were having a terrible time trying to figure out how to keep you three out of danger, but not do anything that might tip our hand and make Jackson suspicious. Then Adam came up with that brilliant idea of me talking Jackson into letting us kidnap you."

Joe gave his oldest brother a disgruntled look and Adam held up his hands, "Sorry, but it was the only way I could be sure you would all be safe," he said in his own defense.

"Well, why couldn't you have just told us?" Joe objected.

"It had to look real to everyone but us, Joe," Thea said. "Everything had to be above suspicion to keep Jackson in the dark."

Hoss looked at Thea, "Us? You too?"

"Of course, who do you think knocked you out? But you never saw me, now did you? The only one you saw was Marie, the turncoat that lured you in," she said and grinned.

Hoss and Joe started to laugh, hard, but when Thea turned back to Adam she caught that same darkness in his eyes as he glanced at his father who had remained strangely quiet.

"So what do you think of all this, Pa?" Joe asked as Hoss continued to chuckle.

"I'm stunned," his father said. Thea watched Adam's face tighten as he looked away.

Hoss looked to Adam, "So what now?"

"Well now, that's a good question. I have also been working on a project that involves opening a regional office of the special division as a test. I have been offered the position of being the first regional director," he paused, "And I'm hoping if I do accept the position that John, Mike, Jerry, and Nate will come with me."

"So you haven't made up your mind, yet?" Ben asked. Adam answered without looking at him. "No, I haven't. I need a chance to clear up one more problem before I can commit."

Joe asked anxiously, "So where will this office be?"

Adam looked right at his father as he answered, "It was supposed to be in San Francisco, but strangely enough the location has changed overnight to Virginia City."

Hoss and Joe exchanged excited looks. "So you'd be movin' to Virginia City if you took that job?" Hoss asked.

"Yes...yes we would." Adam said quietly, still staring at his father.

When Ben finally met Adam's eyes, his eldest son nodded toward the door to the hall, stood and went out.

His father followed and no one noticed except Thea.

Adam led the way to a small parlor off the hall, opened the door, ushered his father in then followed, closing the door behind them. "Have a seat, please," he said to his father, but remained standing as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, a letter he hadn't opened until an hour before.

He stood looking down at the letter in his hand for a moment then turned his deep, dark eyes to his father. "How did you find out? Who do you know? And how did you get to them so fast?" Ben looked away from his son's intense gaze.

"Don't get me wrong, I do understand your motives; I'm a father too so I can understand what prompted you to want to do this. What I can't understand is your giving in to that impulse," Adam said as he began to pace.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" He shook his head and stopped pacing. As he turned to his father both hurt and anger looked out of his eyes for a second, but were quickly veiled.

"I gave two-and-a-half years of my life to this project; two-and-a-half years of planning, decision making, and worst of all, dealing with bureaucrats. Then you make a few suggestions to someone and all of it is gone, overnight." Adam cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders, two signs his father now knew meant his son was furious.

"HOW did you find out? WHO do you know? And HOW did you get to them so fast?" His son repeated and began to pace again.

Without looking at him Ben said, "I had lunch with and old friend of mine who just happened to be in town."

Adam stopped pacing in front of his father, "An old friend who just happened to be...oh no, please don't tell me you mean the division director?"

His father nodded as his son put a hand to his forehead.

"That man has the biggest mouth in Washington and no brains to back it up. He just told you everything, didn't he?"

Ben nodded again.

Adam stopped pacing and wearily dropped into the chair opposite his father. "I've got to say that I just can't believe you did this to me. Not only have you rendered all that work useless, you have seriously undermined my authority."

He put his head down to rub the back of his neck. "I was dealing with these people on an equal basis until now. By tomorrow it will be all through the organization that my father pulled some strings so I could be assigned near home. The whole time I've been working on this I have emphasized to people that there would be no favoritism, no politics, and no influence would be tolerated in my office."

His father started to speak, but Adam held up a hand to stop him, "Don't. Let me finish," he said in a tightly controlled voice. "Believe me, I don't mean any disrespect and I don't want to hurt you. You took a calculated risk, because you knew how much this project meant to me, but I think it's about to blow up in your face."

He raised his head saying, "Look at me," and Ben did.

"My hair is starting to turn gray. I have a family, numerous businesses, and a huge load of responsibility. I am not a child, or even a young man anymore. I have managed my life quite well without you for six years and I am just about as grown up as any man can be." Adam's voice had become rougher with suppressed emotion.

"But we have to come to an understanding, Pa. Either you swear to me, with God as your witness that you will never meddle in my life like this again, or I will walk away from this project and I will no longer be a part of your life."

Adam pushed himself up and stood, head down. He went to the door, opened it then stopped as he raised his head and his shoulders stiffened. "You have a decision to make; let me know when you've made it," he said quietly and closed the door behind him as he left.

When he entered the office again he went directly to Thea, sat next to her on the sofa and took her hand. The detectives were entertaining Joe and Hoss with stories from their assignments.

Thea put her head on Adam's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Did you give him an ultimatum?" She had figured out what happened.

Adam nodded and she squeezed his hand, "He'll do the right thing, I know it."

"I certainly hope so, but he's awfully proud."

"I know, that's another thing you two have in common. But he's also not stupid."

Mike broke into their conversation. "Hey Adam, do you remember the name of that strange little man? You know, the expert pickpocket in New York?"

Adam laughed, "His name was Tony Gettaboney." The others laughed. "He was the best I've ever seen. He could take everything you've had while looking you right in the eye. And you would never know until it was too late."

"Except for you," Jerry said.

"He was only ever caught once, which happened to be by me, and that impressed him so much he decided he was going to teach me everything he knew, from picking locks to spotting confidence men."

"Adam," Joe said, "can you teach me how to pick a lock?"

"Yes Joseph, I can, but I'm not so sure I should..." his older brother was saying when the office door opened and Ben came in.

Adam stood as his father walked right up to him. Looking his son in the eye he said, "You were absolutely right, I shouldn't have interfered. Please accept my apology and my word I will never do anything like that again."

Ben held out his hand and Adam blinked, taken aback at first. He slowly took his father's hand and said, "You really mean that don't you?"

His father nodded, so instead of shaking his hand Adam pulled him into his arms for a backslapping hug and said low, "Believe me Pa, you will never regret this."

"I know I won't," Ben said, "but is there anything that can be done to restore your original plan?"

"No, I know these people and it wouldn't be any use. Besides, my original choice of location was Virginia City" When he saw the look on his father's face Adam grinned.

"I didn't say your suggestions weren't good - it was your motive for making them I objected to."

Ben shook his head in disbelief and Thea said to him, "Nate wasn't kidding when he called Adam devious."

He looked carefully at his eldest son, taking in the hooded eyes and raised eyebrows then realized there was so much more to him now than he had even suspected. He began to chuckle, appreciating Adam's masterful handling of the situation.

"We told you he's devious," Mike agreed.

"I don't lie," Adam objected.

"No, but somehow you usually manage to leave a few major details out," Jerry said.

"I prefer to call that being circumspect. If you want the right answers you have to learn to ask the right questions, and the first thing you learn in dealing with the criminal element is to never give any information not necessary."

Nate changed the subject to what was on everyone else's mind, "So what's it going to be boss? Are we all going to Virginia City or not?"

Adam looked at Thea and she gave him a look that said it was up to him, "'Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay,'" she quoted from scripture.

He looked at his smiling wife and again thought about how lucky he was. Then he shot a look at his father out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, Pa, it looks like you'll be getting your way after all. Yes, we are moving to Virginia City and God help those poor, unsuspecting people. They have no idea what's coming."


End file.
